ELA Learning via New Literacy modes

Blogging and video conferencing to enhance English Language Arts curriculum are two new literacy tools that lend themselves to incorporating reading and writing (via blogging) and listening and speaking (via video conferencing). I have included a concept map of Literacy and what it means to me as a second language teacher:

conceptmap-1.doc

My on-going objective is to explore all aspects of new literacies that can be used to optimize second language acquisition (SLA). Optimal SLA teaching includes direct instruction, comprehensible input, and instructor feedback. As Brian Cambourne points out in his article entitled, "Toward an educationally relevant theory of literacy learning: Twenty years of inquiry" [The Reading Teacher 49, 3 (1995)], engagement and relevancy are crucial conditions of learning that directly and indirectly affect all other conditions of learning in his literacy learning model. As Cambourne points out, "This theory of learning resulted in a predictable pattern of teaching practice (...) Repetitive drill and practice was the core teaching procedure employed." (op. cit., p. 183). This attitude towards literacy learning extended to SLA and foreign language teaching and gained the label of "audiolingualism" or Audiolingual Methodology (ALM). This language teaching method places the instructor as the central figure in the learning environment and it reflects the behavorist psychology with the structural linguistics research popular before the 1970s. Language teaching focus was on not allowing students to make errors, because errors were evidence of "bad habits".

It is only through a rich environment of comprehensible input that intake leads to acquisition of a second language, which is crucial for teaching all ELL students from non-English language backgrounds. All input is not comprehensible. It is through careful lesson planning that includes conscientious differentiation and accommodation that SLA teachers can meet the needs of all students.

Comprehensible input includes input in more than one medium (oral and visual) and that is contextualized in a context that is meaningful to the language learners. The new literacy of blogging and video conferencing provide further mediums for ELA teaching. This context also serves an important underlying purpose: that of motivational arousal. The aspects of motivation (goals, effortful behavior, desire to attain goals) provide the learner with a favorable attitude towards an activity, or what we consider ‘engagement’. We do not engage our students, but through comprehensible input that is in a meaningful context and is relevant to the learner, we provide the key ingredients for motivational arousal. Students engage themselves.

Reflecting on my exploration of new literacy modes for ELA learning, it was my desire to tap into these aspects of motivation so that I could elicit effortful behavior and favorable attitudes toward learning activities which is crucial to my goal of optimal SLA and ELA teaching. Attitude is everything!