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Are we there yet 4
- 1. Are we there yet? Monika Pazio University of Bedfordshire, UK
- 2. The new normal “Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time” Chinese proverb
- 3. NormalisationNormalisation A stage “when computers … are used every day by language students and teachers as an integral part of every lesson, like a pen or a book … without fear or inhibition, and equally without an exaggerated respect for what they can do. They will not be the centre of any lesson, but they will play a part in almost all. They will be completely integrated into all other aspects of classroom life, alongside coursebooks, teachers and notepads. They will go almost unnoticed.” (Bax 2003: 23)
- 4. MFL in the UK Mandatory primary MFL status from September 2014 Varied provision Generalist and specialist teachers Low numbers of foreign language speakers
- 5. ICT in the UKICT in the UK Big investment into ICT equipment All primary school equipped in at least one interactive whiteboard Pilots of tablets Variety of equipment available
- 6. Research What is normalisation in the primary context? What factors impede normalisation in primary MFL?
- 7. Normalisation in primary MFL Normalised MFL Normalised ICT
- 8. Attitudes Stakeholders’ Staff Children Towards successful provision Towards languages in general Towards Early Language Learning (ELL) Towards ELL Towards languages
- 9. Attitudes Stakeholders and staff Children Towards change Towards integration
- 10. Training and support Training and support Pedagogical training Secondary school support Foreign language training and exposure Funding
- 12. logisticsLogistics Teaching arrangements Type of provision Secondary school requirements
- 13. logisticsLogistics Availability of equipment Location Quality of equipment
- 14. Pedagogy
- 15. Generalists Only IWB use Better understanding of children’s learning needs Lack of confidence with language skills to be creative with CALL Wide variety of technology embedded into other subjects
- 16. Specialists Only IWB use Lack of confidence with ICT to be creative with CALL Better knowledge of the language and language teaching pedagogy
- 17. Children’s views Preference for generalists Value individual work with technology Expect creativity they experience in other subjects Enjoy learning languages
- 18. Conclusions The need for a more three dimensional integration Limited integration driven by lack of confidence in case of both types of teachers Obstacles to normalisation center around: attitudes, logistics, training and pedagogy
Editor's Notes
- Technology is everywhere, it’s a regular part of our lives, same for the children, it accompanies children all the time, children grow up with it, they become naturally proficient at using it This picture is slowly starting to translate to the world of education
- Speaking of normal in relation to CALL, the term normalisation has appeared in the discussion of the future direction of CALL and end goal of technology integration Normalisation is described as a stage in which technology becomes so embedded into teaching that it’s presence is no longer recognised as a separate identity and the use aids learning The majority of research in EFL, however mainstream education in England offers an interesting insight
- The MFL situation is quite complex, there are people who see clear benefits and those who feel that knowing English is sufficient to get by This general attitude contributes to low uptake of languages which is now becoming recognised as a problem As a result primary languages which were not a part of the curriculum will become mandatory from September 2014; before the choice as to whether teach languages or not was a school/ teacher decision Because of lack of the mandatory status provision was very varied and it will remain to be varied as the choice of the language, the frequncy and who delivers them lies in the hand of the school Some schools have generalist teachers deliver languages, those teachers quite often have very minmal knowledge of the language hence lack confidence when it comes to teaching Other schools allocate some funding to employ a specialist language teacher who has the linguistic skills but is detached from the school life
- Over the last 15 years there has been a lot funding for ICT equipment, the primary whiteboard expansion project equipped every school in an IWB, so every school has at least one, a large proportion has one in every classroom; there are ICT suites, laptops, cameras and pilot projects of using ipadsso more equipment that encourages participation
- As I mentioned before the majority of CALL/ normalisation research focused primarily on EFL There is a need for CALL research in other contexts hence this study tries to discover new horizons and look into context that previuosly hasn’t been looked into in relation to normalisation The two main research questions are…
- Results, before we discuss the factors which impede normalisation it is important to look at what normalisation means in primary contex What consitutes CALL is the presence of technology and language as a subject – those 2 components have to be in place to speak of CALL While in rimary context technology is there, the language aspect is variable, hence to speak of normalisation of CALL those two aspects need to be normalised separately Normlaised technology means technology is present, used on a regular basis to enhance learning; normalised MFL means subject is taught on a regular basis and that teaching contributes to language gains Normalised CALL is successful integration of technology to teach languages, such that enhances learning The focus is not just on technology then but more importantly on language aspect
- Stakeholders’ attitudes towards languages in general and ELL determine a direction that school takes Attitudes toward successful provision determine who teaches languages and how they are organised Staff – up until now, staff attitudes were important and a decisive force in relation to if at all languages were delivered and how often (esp in relation to non specialists) Attitudes towards ELL and languages in general had to be separated as some participants found learning languages useful but not at primary level
- Attitudes toward change determine the degree of likelihood of resisting to change Integration – related to beliefs about the pedagogical value of ICT
- Pedagogical training – how to teach languages to young learners Vs language training – knowing the language they are teaching; exposure plays an important role as accidental encounters are quite frequently mentioned as a source of experience with the language Secondary school support – especially now with mandatory provision in place creating a link is important and establishing continuity of provision rather than repeating mistakes from the past
- Technical more support rather than training Funding for new equipment is very important (breakdown and updates and upgrades)
- Teaching arrangements – how much time, how many lessons per week Type of provision – who teaches, what languages Secondary school requirements – aligning provision with feeder schools
- The research tried to look deeper into pedagogy and look at how specialists and specialists teach in the classroom and how they use technology
- Generalists have better opportunities for MFL integration in daily routines and embed MFL elements to fun activities that are regularly organised during the week – like show and tell. When it comes to CALL – only iWB use, sticking to ready made resources. In other subjects wider variety of equipment is used, better integration, more emphasis on student creating and making, more creativity with ICT None of this visible in MFL – teachers claim that lack of language skills makes them stick to what is recommended They have better understanding of children’s general needs
- Esp KS2 preferred generalists to deliver languages with on group having very strong opinions about that They feel that generalists can cater to their learning needs and integrate parts of the lesson children enjoy in general creating a link between languages and fun They like IWB interaction, even though they sometimes find whole class activities frustrating, they really appreciate small group work or individual work with technology, whch they get a lot outside of languages