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| Upcoming Events! |
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NNELL Summer
Institute
July 12-14, 2013
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| August 2013 |
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NNELL Summer Institute in Glastonbury, CT |
In partnership with the American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and
Glastonbury Public Schools, the National Network
for Early Language Learning (NNELL) hosted a
Summer Institute in Glastonbury, CT
from Friday, July 12th to Sunday, July 14th, 2013.
NNELL was pleased to welcome the presenters for the
Summer Institute who spoke on a variety of topics in
different sessions timely to foreign language learning
in the 21st century. On Friday morning, an optional
visit to the STARTALK summer program at Glastonbury High
School was scheduled. Institute attendees had the
opportunity to visit the program’s different languages
and levels, which include Arabic, Chinese, and Russian
for grades K-12. Attendees viewed firsthand the students
working at each level in a complete immersion
environment. STARTALK also conducted a program for
teacher trainees in Russian and Chinese.
Friday
afternoon, participants attended an advocacy workshop
led by Tammy Dann, NNELL Early
Language Learning Advocate, and Marcela
Summerville, National Networking
Coordinator for NNELL. This was a great opportunity for
networking and for sharing ideas, resources and tools
for world language advocacy. Marty Abbott,
Executive Director of ACTFL, gave an update on the ACTFL
initiatives related to the national Discover Languages
advocacy campaign. Collaboration with colleagues and
experts in world language instruction allowed for
attendees to tailor the advocacy workshop to their own
needs, as teachers, organizational leaders, policy
makers, or program directors.
On Saturday, Terry Caccavale,
World Language Specialist in Holliston, MA Public
Schools, opened with a keynote
address
on the theme, Our Global Identities. Ms. Caccavale is an
expert in the field and has served as a leader with
NNELL. Paul Sandrock, Director
of Education for ACTFL, presented a workshop titled “In
Common: Early Language Learning at the Core” that
focused on the alignment of the National Standards for
Learning Languages with the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS). Reading, writing, speaking, and listening and
language are strands in the CCSS for English Language
Arts, Literacy in History/Social Studies, and Science,
each of which is represented in our foreign language
classes as we strive towards proficiency.
Paul Sandrock guided attendees through
this Common Core Crosswalk and provided insight for
foreign language teachers to move forward in integrating
these standards in the 21st century.
On Saturday afternoon, Barbara Lindsey,
an independent technology consultant for world
languages, presented a range of projects that offer
means for students to engage in 21st century skills in
the foreign language classroom. Her session “Global Show
and Tell: Finding and Participating in International
Language Projects” enabled participants the opportunity
to explore some related projects online and learn ways
to use them in their classrooms.
Helena Curtain, leader in
early foreign language education, and author of
Languages and Children: Making the Match, led the Sunday
morning session focusing on “What can we learn from the
Common Core Standards in the Early Language Learning
Classroom?” This session was another opportunity to
engage participants in moving forward with the Common
Core in our classrooms and to learn with each other and
experts in the field to continually enhance, develop,
and promote our foreign language programs.
To
learn more about the event,
visit the NNELL Summer Institute page
to watch the keynote address. Summer Institute attendees
can access the presentation information from the same
page with the previously distributed special username
and password. If you have questions about accessing this
information, please contact
NNELL
Webmaster Ken Hughes.
Listen to the NNELL Summer Institute Keynote
Speech
If you were unable to attend the NNELL/ACTFL Summer
Institute in Glastonbury, Connecticut in July-- you can
still listen to the timely and inspirational Keynote
speech by Terry Caccavale, former NNELL President, from
Massachusetts by clicking
here.
Author: Kate Krotzer |
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NNELL Webinars |
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A reminder to our members that all three of our NNELL
webinars are still available for free on the
NNELL website. |
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Join the Advocacy Committee! |
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Tammy Dann, NNELL Advocacy
Chair, is looking for people who teach languages other
than Spanish and would be willing to submit links and
write summaries about those links for the NNELL
Newsworthy publication. If you would like to help, need
more information, or would like to recommend another
member, please contact
Tammy Dann. |
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Advocacy Chair Vacancy |
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The NNELL board is seeking a qualified individual to
take over the responsibilities of Advocacy Chair
beginning this fall. Please contact Tammy
Dann, NNELL Advocacy Chair, at
tdann@nnell.org
for more information. |
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Renew Your Membership |
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We encourage you to
renew your NNELL membership for the
2013-2014 school year so you don't miss you on all the
great things NNELL has to offer. |
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Technology in the
Early Language Learning Classroom
by Kennedy Schultz, Ph.D.
Founder, Explor-A-World LLC |
Much has been written about the advances in learning
technologies and how digital tools can be incorporated
into the language classroom. Networks of ‘connected
educators’ share tips for best practices, helping others
to learn from their own digital experiences. However,
most of the available information (and research) has
focused on the use of technology in middle school, high
school, or university level classrooms. In an effort to
learn more about the elementary school level, I
developed a short survey in November 2012 to gauge the
opinions of early language educators regarding the use
of technology for early language learning. The survey
was voluntary, and was promoted through ACTFL, NNELL,
and Nanduti. It was designed to provide an initial
glimpse at current practice. A total of 65 respondents
teaching K-6 took the time to answer questions. (To view
the actual survey, visit:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BPGH29W) While the sample
is small, it is hoped that the survey will generate
interest and inquiry into the use of technology for
early learners.
The goals of the survey were two-fold: first, to gather
information on what technology is currently being used
and what benefits teachers see from it; second, to
discover what educators see as obstacles to technology
use and adoption.
Current Technology
Overwhelmingly, 94% of respondents indicated that they
currently use technology in the classroom. Technology
can be a tool for both teachers and students. It can
provide teachers with a wealth of resources that inform
and inspire as they prepare for their class. Researching
cultural topics or lesson plan ideas are just a couple
of ways that teachers use technology for their own
preparation. Based on the survey, the most frequent tool
mentioned was YouTube videos (95%), followed closely by
cultural websites (75%), Powerpoint (85%), and CDs,
Smartboard, and on-line games such as Quia (71%). These
tools allow teachers to incorporate authentic media from
internet sources as well as present the material in a
manner that is visually engaging and interactive
(Powerpoint and Smartboard.) Teachers were least likely
to use social media (6%) or Skype (14%) to aid in their
language teaching.
Questions regarding the kinds of technology that
students use did not vary greatly. On-line games (69%),
YouTube and cultural websites (55% each) remained
popular, as did presentation tools using Smartboard
(46%) and Powerpoint (44%). Social media (2%) and Skype
(7%) were again the least utilized tool among students.
These results show that early language educators value
the kind of authentic materials that are accessible
through digital tools, and tend to incorporate
technology in preparation and presentations.
Benefits of Technology
Teachers felt strongly that using technology helped to
create a multi-media learning atmosphere that is
attractive to students, and engages students who are
considered ‘digital natives.’ Nearly half of the
respondent cited these two benefits as being most
important. Only about a third of the respondents felt
that technology enhanced student interaction and
communication skills. Still fewer considered technology
to be a ‘time-saver’ or felt that technology helped
educators to maintain contact with parents.
Obstacles of Technology
While most teachers felt that tech tools were here to
stay—whether we embrace them or not—about half of
respondents felt that the major obstacles to adoption of
technology in their own classrooms had to do with the
availability of resources and the limited time they have
to spend with students. Even the best digital tools can
require some trial and error when finding the best way
to implement them, and this can impact its effectiveness
in the classroom, as one respondent noted, “Since I see
my students for 50 minutes once every 6 days, it doesn't
leave a lot of room for wasted efforts.”
Teachers felt that, overall, technology was supported by
their administrators and parents. However, access to
technology varied widely among respondents. Some worked
at schools that were distributing iPads to every
kindergartener; others lamented the fact that their
language classroom was the only one in the school
without a Smartboard. Questions about whether students
are accessing tech tools outside of the classroom also
impacted a teacher’s ability or desire to implement them
during class. Students who engaged in on-line games and
review websites such as Quia showed greater progress in
language acquisition, according to one respondent.
However, not all students have access to the same
resources outside of the classroom, as one teacher
noted, “Not all students’ computers at home are created
equal.” Finding a balance between in-class technology
and optional/at-home use was an issue noted by several
instructors.
Summary of results
The survey revealed that early language educators do
find some benefit to incorporating digital tools in
their classrooms; however, limited time and resources
often prevent them from exploring new tools or adapting
existing curriculum to include more technology options.
Most felt that technology helped students review
material, access authentic cultural resources, and
create engaging presentations, but the benefits in
student-to-student interaction and communication were
limited at this level.
While the results do not offer a definitive look at all
early language classrooms, they do raise awareness of
how technology can impact early learners. More studies
will be needed to discover how to provide effective and
efficient use of technology for young language learners.
A longer version of this article will appear in Language
Magazine in late summer and will include more interviews
with educators. Would you like to share your experiences
with technology for a future article on early language
learning classrooms? If so, please contact the author at
kennedy.schultz@gmail.com. |
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National Network for
Early Language Learning
info@nnell.org |
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