new ways to create and participate in communities.
(Kern 2006: 183)A classroom setting with a teacher in front at the blackboard/whiteboard and with
students at their desks reading from a textbook, while still the norm in much of the
world, is giving way to the practice of students working independently or
collaboratively at computers and using other technology, such as cell phones (mobile
phones), inside and outside of classrooms. The new discourse, which students use to
author and post messages online, has features of both written and oral language, and
students participate in online or virtual communities that have no borders.
Even if all their language learning is done in formal learning contexts, learners who
have access to computers have more autonomy in what they choose to focus on. With
the use of technology, students are more likely to use language for:
... ongoing identity formation and personally meaningful communication in the
service of goals that extend beyond ‘practice’ or ‘learning’ in the restrictive senses
associated with institutional settings.
(Thorne 2006: 14)Technology also allows teaching to be tailored to the individual to a greater extent
than is normally possible. A few Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL)
programs can even adapt to diverse learners by analyzing their input and providing
customized feedback and remedial exercises suited to their proficiency. There are also
programs that feature computer adaptive testing so that students respond to test
questions at an appropriate level.^2
Complementing the greater individualization is the greater social interaction that
can result from the ability to link students through networked computers. You may
recall from our discussion in Chapter 10 the claim that learning takes place through
social interaction (Vygotsky 1978). Social interaction helps students co-construct their
knowledge by building on one another’s experience. The fact that interaction in
technology happens mainly through writing means that the interaction is available for
later reflection and analysis. Here is how Eric, a student of French, describes learning
from e-mail interactions with a native speaker of French:
... e-mail is kind of like not a written thing ... when you read e-mail, you get
conversation but in a written form so you can go back and look at them... . I’ve
had that experience where conversational constructions appear in an e-mail form
from a native speaker of French, which is really neat. Because it doesn’t fly by
you ...
(Kramsch and Thorne 2002: 97)So technology makes possible greater individualization, social interaction, and
reflection on language, and inferring from Eric’s comments, greater student