Can Computers Help the ESL Student
The theories of modern linguistics, on the other hand, take a drastically different look at a possible role for computers in the ESL classroom. Stephen Krashen’s widely accepted second language acquisition theory actually argues against the usefulness of isolated grammar lessons in ESL instruction. Krashen’s theory describes an acquisition process where students learn language through the act of communicating meaning rather than through a formal understanding of the structure of their utterances. Computers are obviously a very powerful communication tool, and therefore can be utilized to facilitate language comprehension.
Can Computers Help the ESL Student?
It has always been a popular practice for older generations to look down their noses at the intellectual and cultural pursuits of the youth. Kids have been frustrating parents and teachers alike for eons with everything from their musical tastes to their general lack of respect for the status quo. In the 50s, it was leather jackets and Elvis. In the 60s, it was bellbottoms and The Beatles. Today, many educators will tell you that cell phones, video games, and the Internet are driving forces behind declining test scores.
A less cynical approach, however, doesn’t have to look too hard to see the vast potential that computers and technology can offer the ESL student.
Writing
Just a little over a decade ago, young people’s primary motivation for writing was to complete school assignments. Beyond the occasional hand written letter, writing was not a practice actively engaged in by the young people.
When you contrast that fact with the landscape of today, it becomes clear that the world has changed. Young people engage in the act of writing every single day in their personal and private lives. Instant messaging, blogging, posting comments on MySpace and Facebook, emailing, and text messaging are all writing acts that a few short years ago didn’t exist.
Students would not be engaging in this volume of writing were it not for one important invention – the computer. Writing is a process. The more students practice this process, the more adept they become at communicating their ideas. For ESL students, the wealth of communication options the computer provides allows for daily opportunities to practice interacting with others in English.
Genre Awareness
Some would argue that the type of writing that students engage in using the computer is antithetical to the type of academic writing that is required to succeed in school. However, what students are developing, whether consciously or not, is genre awareness. Research in rhetoric and composition studies suggests that students read and write more effectively when they develop a keen sense of genre awareness.
Genre awareness involves identifying purpose and intention in a writing task. Understanding the genre of a piece of writing allows students to read more critically and write more effectively. An editorial in a newspaper, for example, has a different purpose than an article in a science journal. The editorial is concerned with persuading an audience while the article attempts to inform. The language choices writers use vary depending on the genre they are writing for.
Computers expose students to a wide spectrum of genres. While surfing the web for one hour, a student might read a news story, a gossip column, and a how-to computer article. In the same hour, they could respond to an email from a romantic interest and an email from a professor while also carrying on an instant messenging session with their mother. While they may not consciously realize it, these students are making complex distinctions between different genres. They are reading and writing for different purposes and are choosing language appropriate to their audience. For ESL students, this type of awareness is priceless in that it requires them to become active participants in a variety of communication settings.
Important Considerations for ESL Students and Computers
The obvious dilemma with ESL instruction and computers is that, for any of the above benefits to occur, students need to be reading and writing on the computer in English. Students who speak English for a few hours at school every day but conduct all their online affairs in their native language are not going to see significant improvements in their English skills. However, if students can be encouraged to practice using the computer in English, they will see their rate of second language acquisition increase exponentially. When pondering the question, “Can computers help the ESL student?” the answer is yes only if both the computers and the students are speaking English.
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