Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning / Edition 2

by Robert J. Blake, Claire Kramsch

Overview

Brave New Digital Classroom examines the most effective ways to utilize technology in language learning. The author deftly interweaves the latest results of pedagogical research with descriptions of the most successful computer-assisted language learning (CALL) projects to show how to implement technology in the foreign language curriculum to assist the second language acquisition process.

This fully updated second edition includes new chapters on the latest electronic resources, including gaming and social media, and discusses the realities and potential of distance learning for second language acquisition. The author examines the web, CALL applications, and computer-mediated communication (CMC), and suggests how the new technologically assisted curriculum will work for the foreign-language curriculum. Rather than advocating new technologies as a replacement for activities that can be done equally well with traditional processes, the author envisions a radical change as teachers rethink their strategies and develop their competence in the effective use of technology in language teaching and learning.

Directed at all language teachers, from the elementary school to postsecondary levels, the book is ideal for graduate-level courses on second language pedagogy. It also serves as an invaluable reference for experienced researchers, CALL developers, department chairs, and administrators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589019768
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	02/15/2013
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Robert J. Blake is director of the UC Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching, professor of Spanish and classics, and chair, Designated Emphasis in Second Language Acquisition, at the University of California, Davis.

Read an Excerpt

Brave New Digital Classroom [is] a practical, useful and seemingly modest introduction to the use of computer technology in the foreign language classroom. . . . It states clearly and urgently what the stakes are: either teachers embrace the new language learning technologies and integrate them in a new pedagogy or they will not only deprive themselves of the enormous benefits afforded by CALL, CMC, distance learning, social networking and language games, but they will be increasingly out of touch with their own students, who are by now wired, networked, and computer savvy. However, in every chapter we are reminded that the technology is not a panacea in itself. It urgently needs the teacher to harness it properly if it is to help learners achieve the ultimate goal of foreign language learning: becoming bilingual.

Table of Contents

Preface

ForewordClaire Kramsch

1. Second Language Acquisition, Language Teaching, and Technology

2. Web Pages in Service of L2 Learning

3. CALL and Its Evaluation: Programs and Apps

4. Computer-Mediated Communication 5. Theory in Practice: Putting It All Together

6. Distance Learning for Languages

7. Social Networking and L2 Learning

8. Homo Ludens: Games for Language Learning

Glossary

References

Index

What People are Saying About This

Rafael Salaberry

Destined to become a classic reference for anyone venturing into the field of distance language learning. For all of the others who have gained their experience in a field in which the L2 acquisition process has been studied mostly in the face-to-face classroom environment, Blake challenges our assumptions and directs our attention to the potential of new interactional environments for the processing and acquisition of the L2.

From the Publisher

"An eminently useful, well-written, and most informative little book. Based on sound SLA research, it offers a reasoned use of various computer technologies to enhance and enrich the language learning experience. A must for any methods course at the college level." -- Claire Kramsch, University of California, Berkeley

"A very important contribution to the field of technology and foreign language learning. It is able to synthesize abstract theoretical issues into understandable language while also addressing practical issues of the implementation of technology into a foreign language curriculum. Specialists in this field, especially those teaching graduate seminars on this topic, will welcome this book." -- Barbara A. Lafford, Arizona State University

"Destined to become a classic reference for anyone venturing into the field of distance language learning. For all of the others who have gained their experience in a field in which the L2 acquisition process has been studied mostly in the face-to-face classroom environment, Blake challenges our assumptions and directs our attention to the potential of new interactional environments for the processing and acquisition of the L2." -- Rafael Salaberry, University of Texas at Austin

Claire Kramsch

An eminently useful, well-written, and most informative little book. Based on sound SLA research, it offers a reasoned use of various computer technologies to enhance and enrich the language learning experience. A must for any methods course at the college level.

Barbara A. Lafford

A very important contribution to the field of technology and foreign language learning. It is able to synthesize abstract theoretical issues into understandable language while also addressing practical issues of the implementation of technology into a foreign language curriculum. Specialists in this field, especially those teaching graduate seminars on this topic, will welcome this book.

Editorial Reviews

No education collection should be without this guide on how to proceed.

Midwest Book Review

A cohesive, updated overview of how technology can be effectively used in second and foreign language teaching and learning. This book serves as a useful handbook for a wide audience including all language teachers.

Linguist List

Blake succeeds in painting the possibilities of technology integration for those contemplating its use in the classroom. The book is suitable for multiple audiences, including the methods courses, in which it could serve as a springboard for further discussion of appropriate and meaningful use of technology in language learning.

Raquel Oxford

Brave New Digital Classroom serves many purposes and can be used within multiple levels of instruction, making it one of the best buys on the market . . . . Indispensable tool within the CALL environment and will prove to be an essential resource for present and future FL educators.

Modern Language Journal

A seminal piece that is essential, at least in parts, for anyone involved in FL education.

This small but highly resourceful book is the first of its kind to offer a comprehensive summary of technologies developed to assist language learning, with an emphasis on foreign language classrooms.

Issues in Applied Linguistics

This is an easy introduction to sound practice in application of computer technology in language instruction.

eLanguage.net

A concise, well-written, and accessible book that will appeal to language teachers, educators, and researchers who are interested in learning more about CALL research and best practices in the FL classroom. The organization and presentation of the content and the breadth of the discussion in this book reflect Blake's insightful and thorough concerns about the different aspects of technology-enhanced FL curricula.

Language Learning & Technology

A seminal piece that is essential, at least in parts, for anyone involved in FL education.

FLTMAG - Foreign Language Technology Magazine - Adrienne Gonzales

A very important contribution to the field of technology and foreign language learning. It is able to synthesize abstract theoretical issues into understandable language while also addressing practical issues of the implementation of technology into a foreign language curriculum. Specialists in this field, especially those teaching graduate seminars on this topic, will welcome this book.

Barbara A. Lafford

An eminently useful, well-written, and most informative little book. Based on sound SLA research, it offers a reasoned use of various computer technologies to enhance and enrich the language learning experience. A must for any methods course at the college level.

Claire Kramsch

Destined to become a classic reference for anyone venturing into the field of distance language learning. For all of the others who have gained their experience in a field in which the L2 acquisition process has been studied mostly in the face-to-face classroom environment, Blake challenges our assumptions and directs our attention to the potential of new interactional environments for the processing and acquisition of the L2.

Rafael Salaberry