online learning – Educational Sociolinguistics

Internet, technology and language learning

Radon.

It is noticeable that, computer technology and its derivation — the internet has played an increasingly indispensable role in language teaching and learning (Mike, 1996). Before, they were more often regarded as supplementary tools to classroom teaching. Whereas, no one would have foreseen that, the unexpected covid-19 pandemic has catapulted the online platform and the other digital resources into the primary media for education. People use technology and the internet more than ever in educational activities at this particular moment and I am no exception. In the past few months, I have personally experienced a lot with teaching and also being taught through this virtual world, which provokes me to reconsider the impacts exerted by these online tools, specifically on language learning.

Education vector created by pikisuperstar – www.freepik.com

I believe that most of us have in a sense benefited from internet recources while learning a language. In the midst of the pandemic, internet and technology enables us to continue acquiring the knowledge that we need in a safer way and guarantees a certain intake of social interaction, despite that it takes some time to familiarize ourselves with multifarious functions. During quarantine, I appreciated that I registered in an online French course, which empowered me to learn French and converse with others. In doing so, I made good use of my time without going out. Furthermore, the internet in general is not only informative (Koua, 2013) but also quite up to date. Notably, the internet is in fact changing the way people speak and even creating new words. For instance, it has contributed to the prosperity of English Text Speak characteristics of abbreviations or acronyms and even non-standard grammar. ASAP (as soon as possible), OMG (oh my God), BTW (by the way) are some telling examples. Besides, myriads of popular words in fact originated from the internet, such as selfie, tweet, hashtags, etc. The traditional textbooks, conversely, fail to provide all these present-day and practical usages of language.

Nevertheless, the internet and technology do not solely generate positive effects. My deepest impression so far is that the cyber world is also undermining the way we internalize knowledge. Take spelling as an example: in July and August of this year, I voluntarily taught English in the House of Friendship (HoF), a charitable organization in Montreal. Again, due to the pandemic, everything had to be performed online. I observed the high accuracy of spelling in the students’ e-version assignments in Word, whereas many more spelling mistakes were discovered in their final exam on Google Forms. My assumption was that the keyboard didn’t correct their spelling automatically in Google Forms, so that students’ actual mastery of spelling was exposed. Actually, it is not merely happening to these beginner-level language learners. The proficient ones and even native speakers are also experiencing the same. Think it over: Do you turn on the “auto-correction” function in your smartphone or use any grammar-check software like “Grammarly” on your computer? Have you ever been in a dilemma where you forgot the correct spelling of a frequently used vocabulary item when you try to write it down? If yes, you might be undergoing something similar to “character amnesia” in China. Unfortunately, the overdependence of technology and internet make us so stuck in the illusion of convenience that we are unaware that our actual knowledge is “getting stolen”.

Book vector created by pch.vector – www.freepik.com

The pandemic situation gives us no choice but to teach and learn primarily through online platforms and it is admittedly the most opportune solution for now. But when it is over, will computer technology and internet remain the core educational methods? We might reconsider it.

Questions for further discussion:
Based on your experience, what’s the biggest drawback/benefit of online language learning and teaching?
As a language teacher, can you share your example of how to use the internet and computer technology to supplement your teaching in the off-line classroom?
What do you think language teaching and learning will be like when the pandemic is over?

References:

Koua, V. (2013). The internet in french language teaching and learning: positive and negative impacts. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(4), 564–571. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.4.564-571

Mike, D. (1996). Internet in the schools: A literacy perspective. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 40(1), 1-13.

Online Teaching and Learning: Closer or Further?

Bingtong Liu

In the past few decades, the implementation of technology in language education has become a topic of growing interest. If there is one thing that almost all teachers have realized in the past six months of COVID 19, it is that they have to learn how to use technology better.

Van Herk points out that “A change in a social situation will lead to changes in the sociolinguistic situation” (2018, p. 5). During this special period, we build social networks with the world and other people through technology. In order to avoid close contact and protect people, teaching and learning are undertaken remotely and on digital platforms in many countries.

Just at that time, I took a summer courses and had the chance to learn and teach online. As an ESL learner, I found there were some changes in the online class compared with a traditional in-person class. This online learning form brought us plenty of new Internet words and it only made sense for people who had an online class with zoom. For example, instead of using “office hour”, we usually say we have a “zoom meeting”. Moreover, instead of saying “I have a class today”, we are more likely to say “I have a zoom today”. Obviously, “Zoom” has become synonymous with “class”. Without this online learning experiences, I might not understand what people are talking about or use these words in my own repertoire. In addition, I might not be aware of the changes in people’s language and use of words.

As an ESL teacher, my co-worker and I prepared our class together and tried to come up with many forms of interesting ice-breaker activities that could be used online in the virtual classroom. We also learned and explored some new functions of Zoom, like annotation, whiteboard, chatroom, breakout rooms. Under the circumstance, we tried to find more possibilities to build a good affective climate since we could not meet each other in the real classroom. One thing is very interesting that apart from text, our students liked to use the emoji and expressions in the chatroom to communicate with us and others, which was a quite vivid way to interact and express themselves. This illustrates that the current social situation has led to word variation, the use of emojis and expressions, and changes in teaching and learning. Undoubtedly, in this case, I have changed the way I socialize and communicate with people sub-consciously.

After the course, my co-worker said to me, “It was a little bit weird that we took the courses together and taught together, but we never met each other in person. Hhhhh 🙂 ”. But I truly felt that everyone hoped and tried to build a social connection with each other through all kinds of language during this period compared with the in-person class. Actually, language builds a bridge for communication between the real world and the virtual world and makes us closer!

I was wondering whether you think it could bring us closer or further. How can we further make a connection with each other through online courses?

Reference

Herk, G. V. (2018). What is sociolinguistics? Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.

Joining (?) a new social network (?)

By Conner

This is my first semester of graduate school. I was very much looking forward to joining a new social network. Generally, I find that most people would think of social media Facebook when presented with the words “social network”—encouraged, of course, by the fact that there’s a movie about Facebook with that exact same name.

Instead, what I’m talking about, in sociolinguistic terms, is the interconnected web of people with whom I interact on a regular basis. I don’t know about anyone who is reading this, but I’ve noticed my social network has assumed a strange new shape recently, one with a lot of little squares. I grew up in the 80’s and remember watching the TV show Max Headroom, about a person who gets digitized into a computer and can only communicate, stuttering and digitized, through a screen.

This show also scared the bejeesus out of me

The only human I see physically on a regular basis is my husband. Everyone else–students, classmates, friends–is like Max Headroom: recorded, converted into 1’s and 0’s, and then reconstituted. Only then is it safe for me to see them.

I anticipated that my social network would grow when I began to attend graduate school. I thought it would be fun to get back into talking to smart people about smart things and feeling very smart and smug, but instead, I feel very distanced from my classmates. There is no ambient chatting before or after classes, and no group study or trips to get afternoon coffee the way I imagined my graduate school experience might be.

I am at least lucky to have been grouped up with individuals for my group projects who were interested in meeting up early to plan. Everyone confessed in our first meetings that we felt very confused and insecure. Nobody seems to be feeling very smart or smug, and even the teachers seem to feel hesitant in this new online environment.

McGill has just announced that it will be following a similar online format for the Winter semester. I am a thesis student and will probably be done with my coursework after two semesters. I worry that my social network will not be able to truly grow because I am distanced from my classmates. Everyone seems very interesting, and is full of their own experiences and expertise, but we seem unable to connect. I’ve certainly made friends and connected with people online before, but this feels impossible currently. I worry that we will not be able to all improve together. Selfishly, I even worry if this will impact my writing and thinking, and if the quality of the research I will attempt to produce will suffer accordingly.

I hope I will be able to meet at least some of my classmates in-person in the future. Perhaps the groundwork we lay now, the shared experience of online learning and pandemic, will grow into a different sort of social network. I look forward to having a smug cup of coffee together and being surprised at how tall everyone actually is in real life.