2.3.5 Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL)

To emphasize the growing invisibility of the tool and the shift in emphasis on the uses of the tool, it would seem appropriate to employ a different term to characterize this period in the evolution of computer use in language teaching. Whereas in phase one and two, we referred to Computer-Assisted Language Learning, we will now instead adopt use of the term Technology-Enhanced Language Learning. The distinction between CALL and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) is that the computer simultaneously becomes less visible yet more ubiquitous. "The change in emphasis from computer to technology places direct importance on the media of communication made possible by the computer, which itself often remains unseen, rather than on the computer itself" (Bush Roberts, 1997, p.vii). Garrett (1991) distinguishes between technology that assists learning and that which supports learning. Whereas in CALL, the computer assisted learning, it might be said that in TELL, the computer supports learning. This third phase of technology use in second- and foreign-language teaching is characterized by the use of multimedia and the Internet. It can also be characterized by a clearly delineated move away from behaviorist, drill and practice type software and a move towards more constructivist uses of the tool. It also represents a certain rejection of Communicative CALL as Warschauer and Healey (1998) explain:

Though communicative CALL was seen as an advance over behavioristic CALL, it too began to come under criticism. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, critics pointed out that the computer was still being used in an ad hoc and disconnected fashion and thus "finds itself making a greater contribution to marginal rather than central elements" of the language learning process (Kenning Kenning, 1990, p. 90). This corresponded to a broader reassessment of communicative language teaching theory and practice. Many teachers were moving away from a cognitive view of communicative teaching to a more social or socio-cognitive view, which placed greater emphasis on language use in authentic social contexts. Task-based, project-based, and content-based approaches all sought to integrate learners in authentic environments, and also to integrate the various skills of language learning and use. (p.2)

The role of the computer once again shifts in this phase of computer use in language teaching. Unlike in the previous phase where the computer served in the role of simulator of reality, in this phase, using the typology of Legenhausen and Wolff (1987) the computer is able to serve as generator of reality. The dichotomy of classroom versus real world disappears as technology allows the real world to be "brought in" to the classroom. In this phase, the discrepancy disappears between the didactic situation of the classroom and that of the world outside of the classroom. The computer allows classroom-based learners to experience realities from outside of the classroom i.e. from the "real world". Hubbard's (1987) typology uses language teaching approaches to categorize CALL programs: Behavioristic CALL approaches, explicit learning approaches, and acquisition approaches. In this third phase of CALL, the computer acts as a facilitator of language acquisition.

Warschauer (1996a) refers to the third phase of use of computers in teaching second languages as Integrative CALL. He uses the term integrative to refer to efforts at developing models which would integrate various aspects of language learning for example using task- or project-based approaches. Integrative CALL relies on use of multimedia and the Internet and more specifically on hypermedia. Hypermedia, explains Warschauer, allows for easy integration of the skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking, authentic learning experiments, student control over their learning and a focus on the content. Hypermedia also creates an environment for the exploration of vast amounts of information, experimentation and discovery (Underwood, 1989). Multimedia's capacity for the integration of image, sound, audio and video represents what can be characterized as a fundamental challenge to the textbook as the "font of knowledge" as well as a challenge to the "dynamics of the textbook/classroom model of instruction" (Pusak Otto, 1997, p.15).

Multimedia computers can provide an accurate portrayal of the target language and provide learners with control and feedback. More importantly though they facilitate a methodological and theoretical advance that shifts the emphasis away from the traditional production of sentences common with CALL to an emphasis on "input and intake" (Pusak Otto, 1997). Multimedia also provides a "massive storehouse of recorded realia" (Ibid.) to facilitate authentic learning. As well, multimedia provides support for different learning styles of language learners by deploying different neuro-systems in learning through its reliance on sound, colour, animation etc. (Hanson-Smith, 1997). In spite of the advantages of multimedia for language learning, Warschauer argues that there are problems related to its use for language teaching. The lack of programs based on sound pedagogical principles combined with the lack of interactivity and intelligence of these programs limit the ability of multimedia technology to allow for the integration of meaningful and authentic communication. Hanson-Smith (1997) argues in a similar vein about the lack of "appropriate pedagogy" of multimedia whereby the media aspects often drive the content rather than the other way around.

On the other hand, computer-mediated communication made possible in online learning environments, posits Warschauer, can allow for a truly integrative approach to technology use by providing an environment where authentic and creative communication are fully integrated. Warschauer argues that computer-mediated communication "is probably the single computer application to date with the greatest impact on language teaching" (p.5). It also allows not only one-to-one communication, but also one-to-many, allowing a teacher or student to share a message with a small group, the whole class, a partner class, or an international discussion list of hundreds or thousands of people. The integrative function of computer-mediated communication is illustrated as follows:

Computer-mediated communication allows users to share not only brief messages, but also lengthy (formatted or unformatted) documents--thus facilitating collaborative writing--and also graphics, sounds, and video. Using the World Wide Web (WWW), students can search through millions of files around the world within minutes to locate and access authentic materials (e.g., newspaper and magazine articles, radio broadcasts, short videos, movie reviews, book excerpts) exactly tailored to their own personal interests. They can also use the Web to publish their texts or multimedia materials to share with partner classes or with the general public. (p. 5)

n a discussion of the use of technology from the perspective of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Hanson-Smith (1997) examines the pedagogical practices that have benefitted or will benefit from technological enhancement. The traditional four-walled classroom with chalkboard and textbook is enriched by an Internet connection in the school. Increased linguistic diversity, extended listening practice, global interaction with other learners and native speakers through e-mail and chat: these are some of the advantages offered through online learning environments and computer-mediated communication. Authentic language/content-based learning are facilitated, stimulated and simulated through technology use. The World Wide Web allows for an instantaneous exchange of information to and from sites and between individuals. Use of the Internet demands a level of student engagement in authentic language encounters that would barely be possible face-to-face (Hanson-Smith, 1997). Two-way video and voice links and video-conferencing will further facilitate attempts at cross-cultural communication and collaboration:

Language learners may post messages to a bulletin board, which users may "drop by" to look at, or they may join a list and have messages sent directly to their own "mail box," or they may enter "live" chat areas where communication is simultaneous, as if one were "talking" by typing. A number of sites now exist specifically created for ESL learners (and for learners of other languages as well) to exchange ideas on topics of real interest to them. Real-time chat rooms, MOOs (Multi-User Object-Oriented sites) or Telnet sites also usually have access to an online dictionary for quick, real-time searches. (Hanson-Smith, 1997, p.5)

Collaborative and task-based learning are also made possible through online learning. Global classroom curricular exchanges and inter-cultural exploration also offer great potential for language learners. Use of the Internet in teaching can also facilitate more proactive, conscious, cognitive learning whereby the student accesses, evaluates, and deploys his or her own learning methods. Students may research current events, historical and cultural topics, or hundreds of other topics in thousands of online archives. They may also question native speakers using e-mail, look up words online as they try to express themselves, and collaborate with groups of learners, native and nonnative speakers of the target language globally and instantaneously (Ibid.).

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) using the Internet has the power to allow learners to collaborate and to construct knowledge together (Warschauer, 1997a). Online learning, explains Warschauer, breaks the pattern of teacher-centred discussion in the classroom. In his review of studies on CMC, the author notes that the social dynamics of CMC result in more equality of participation than what would be typical in face-to-face communication. As well, students can initiate authentic communication with each other, with the teacher, in the classroom or outside the classroom. Such communication can be characterized as situated learning or learning that is situated within a particular context yet transferable to a broader context or environment. Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) have developed the theory of situated learning which argues that learning, both outside and inside school, advances through collaborative social interaction and the social construction of knowledge. In situated learning, knowledge is presented in an authentic context, i.e., in settings that would normally involve that knowledge. Online exchanges using the Internet provide such opportunities for authentic and meaningful communication, social interaction and collaboration.

Singhal (1997) explains how use of the Internet can promote higher-order thinking skills. In searching the Web for specific information, logic skills are required of the language learner. Students must review the information through activities such as scanning, discarding, and evaluative judging. Finally, the learner goes through a process of synthesizing the information in order to make a complete and coherent whole. Such an endeavor permits students to practice reading skills and strategies. Singhal describes as well how the Internet allows students to interact with the "real world". It provides authentic materials, current information, and promotes incidental learning.

The value of OLEs as a source of invaluable authentic material is discussed by Smith (1997). Smith uses the term virtual realia to refer to authentic material or, more specifically, "(in language teaching) digitized objects and items from the target culture which are brought into the classroom as examples or aids and used to stimulate spoken or written language production" (p.1). Realia consists of cultural artifacts as well as teaching aids that "facilitate the simulation of experience in the target culture". According to Smith, such materials promote active teaching and learning, help to make the target language input as comprehensible as possible and build a bridge between the classroom and the world. Realia provide language learners with "multi-sensory impressions of the language" and aid in contextually grounding instruction by bringing students into contact with language as it is used in the target culture in order to meet actual communication needs." Realia break down geographic barriers and thus provide insights into the target culture. Smith summarizes the benefits of virtual realia by comparing them with traditional realia:

Like more traditional realia, virtual realia is motivating and meaningful in that it brings an authentic piece of the target culture into the language classroom. The added advantage with this new medium is that realia-based lessons need not be bound to cities and places that the teacher has physically been to but, rather, can be based on materials from a variety of places collected from a variety of people with various interests. Further, students interact directly with these materials rather than with someone else's interpretation and analysis of them and thus may find virtual realia even more appropriate for their interests than traditional authentic materials collected by the teacher. Another benefit of virtual realia is that the materials are truly interactive and more flexible than traditional ones in that they can be easily adapted and up dated. (p.2)

OLEs offer many benefits for foreign- and second-language education. Compared with earlier forms of technology use, they not only offer a greater variety of tools and mediums but also allow for a move away from the behavioural approaches to language learning previously so common with computer use in the teaching of second languages. Some of the main advantages of the use of OLEs in second- and foreign-language teaching identified to date can be summarized as follows:

• Online interaction can lead to cooperative projects and increased communication between students from all over the world, in turn leading to the development of social skills. (Singhal, 1997)
• The linguistic nature of online communication is desirable for promoting language learning. Electronic discourse tends to be lexically and syntactically more complex than oral discourse. (Warschauer, 1996b)
• The Internet creates optimal conditions for learning to write by providing an authentic audience for written communication. (Warschauer, 1997b)
• Use of the Internet is motivating for students because they see it as new and exciting and as a tool they will need in their future careers. (Muehleisen, 1997)
• Communication with native speakers furthers literacy development for authentic purposes, enables language learners to compare student perspectives on an issue, and allows them to practice specific skills such as negotiating, persuading, clarifying meaning, requesting information, and engaging in true-life, authentic discussion. (Singhal, 1997)
• Listservs from around the world can offer news and discussion groups in the target language providing another source of authentic input and interaction. (Ibid.)
• Chat rooms can be used to stimulate authentic communication and assist students in developing specific communication skills such as arguing, persuading, or defending a particular point. (Ibid.)
• The teaching of culture can be facilitated through the immediate feedback and contact with second-language speakers. (Ibid.)
• The Internet can be used to acquire information from language resources for a variety of purposes such as current geographical, historical, social/cultural, economic, and political information from the countries in which the target language is spoken. (Ibid.)
• Students can read Web versions of daily newspapers and same-day news reports and thus participate in the culture of the target language and learn how cultural background influences one's view of the world. (Ibid.)
• The Internet can serve as a medium for experiencing and presenting creative works, and as a platform for students' own work such as essays, poetry, or stories. (Ibid.)
• The Internet provides supplemental language activities which can provide students with additional practice in specific areas of language learning. These include reading tests and comprehension questions, grammar exercises, pronunciation exercises possible through the available multimedia capabilities, cloze tests, vocabulary exercises. (Ibid.)

In summary, OLEs present certain possibilities and potential for language learning that cannot be achieved otherwise. Nor can the new era of language learning be achieved effectively without use of OLEs. OLEs have the capacity to generate reality and thus to provide access to the real world to an extent that would not be possible otherwise. They provide tools that support a level of collaboration and communication which cannot be provided by any other learning environment. They allow for a focus on knowledge production, construction and sharing to an unprecedented extent. Finally, OLEs provide unparalleled support for constructivist learning. As Ryder (1994) remarks, the Internet is "a powerful environment for constructivist learning":

It is an organic system which grows and responds to human participation. A virtual library, the Internet provides abundant information resources. But unlike a library, the Net is a potent environment for generative learning where participants, through interaction, add value to the resources they exploit. The flexibility of collaborative environments provides scaffolding for learners in times of rapid change where standard instructional approaches can be less than adequate. The power of the Net is exploited by crafted learners using collaborative strategies and sophisticated cognitive tools. (p.1)

There are numerous benefits of language learning in online environments which were not possible with earlier forms of technology. The capacity for communication makes online learning very attractive for learning languages and it is this feature that is often touted as one of its major advantages. The capacity to allow for individualization is also a valuable feature for language learners. Unlike CALL which presented the same material, in the same way and with the same analysis of performance (Garrett, 1991), online learning provides a multitude of presentations and a wide range of content suitable to different learning styles and strategies. At the same time, ironically, such a range of styles and content can also present itself as a weakness of the new medium. Garrett (1991) questions whether or not students can make best use or the use intended by their teacher of hypertext and hypermedia material such as that offered by the Internet or online learning environments. Garret points to many of the unresolved questions related to students' browsing in large databases:

If learners have access to a lot of data regarding something they need to know an unspecified amount about-reference materials or related bodies of more or less directly relevant information, far more than can realistically be accessed-what do they in fact look up? Do they know what they need to look for? How do they make use of it? In the long run, do they perhaps learn as much from browsing, in what might seem to us an inefficient or purposeless way, as from directed exploration? How freely does what kind of student at what level of learning browse and explore? Do learners get lost moving around in an infinitely complex set of related data? What kind of student gets lost under what circumstances? What kind of lesson structure or visual clues tend to prevent their getting lost? (p.93)

Garretts' questions remind us that there are many unanswered questions and challenges regarding the use of online learning environments for language learning. (Singhal, 1997) highlights some of these challenges to use of the Internet in language teaching:

• When lines are busy due to many users, it may take time to access information or browse the Net and technical glitches themselves can lead to frustration.
• Lack of training and familiarity on part of the teachers can make it difficult to implement the Internet in the language classroom.
• Foreign language teachers are especially anxiety prone to computers since they often have little experience with computers.
• For the most part, computers in schools are used for business or computer science courses.
• Costs related to training, as well as on-line costs of using a provider are issues that may interfere with implementing such a technology in schools, especially in schools that have little funding.
• Censorship may also be a concern to language programs and instructors. The Internet offers access to all types of issues and topics, some of which are unsuitable for children.
• Equity issues may also present difficulties when attempting to implement such technology in the classroom. Rural and inner-city schools, already hard-pressed to provide Internet access, may find it less affordable.
• Many institutions such as these may also not have the computers or computing facilities necessary to implement such type of technology.

Like Singhal, Warschauer (1997b) recognizes both the potential and the challenges related to OLEs and language learning. Internet activities can result in various complexities that may not occur in the traditional classroom. Students may not necessarily have the prerequisite computer skills necessary for success. Other complexities relate, not to human factors, but to issues of hardware and scheduling. Malfunctioning software and/or hardware as well as unavailable labs may thwart students' and teachers' most well-intended efforts. Certain online activities such as exchanges between partnered classes must be carefully managed to ensure success. Differences in understanding, schedules, language, and experience can result in complications in an exchange.

To ensure optimal conditions for a successful online language learning experience, Warschauer suggests certain guidelines for teachers. Teachers must carefully clarify their goals in order to be able to plan and organize online activities that best lead to realization of these goals. Online activities should not be simply add-ons to the curriculum rather they should represent an attempt at integration and should as well place sufficient cognitive and linguistic demands on students. The challenges related to learner preparedness require that teachers provide support to avoid a situation where students become overwhelmed by the demands of learning in the new environment. Handouts, training sessions, pair-work and direct assistance are some of the ways in which the teacher can provide support. One of the most significant ways in which a teacher can ensure greater success in online learning is to use a learner-centered approach that allows student input into decisions and which ensures "de-centered interaction". One important aspect of their role in online learning will involve helping students develop the necessary learning strategies. Most importantly, argues Warschauer, teachers must learn to become a "guide on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage".

Providing teachers with guidelines and helping them understand the challenges and difficulties related to online learning is a necessary step in ensuring that their experiences in the new environment will be successful. Teachers cannot simply assume that the techniques, approaches and strategies that worked well in the traditional learning environment of the classroom can simply be successfully transposed into the environment of the Internet. One of the important reasons that such a transposition cannot occur easily is that the Internet was not designed as a learning environment. As Warschauer has argued, use of the Internet as a learning environment requires the adoption of different roles and necessitates a certain preparation in order to meet its particular challenges.

The challenges will be numerous and complex for teachers as they move towards use of new technologies and new practices in the 21^st century. Use of new technologies may require that they abandon old ways of doing and of believing. The approaches to teaching and to technology use, the theories which have made sense to them, the environments which have provided them with considerable security and comfort: all of these aspects may need to change if teachers are going be able to effectively exploit the new online environments for learning. The previous sections of this chapter have outlined the new environments, theories and approaches to teaching languages and using technology which will form the landscape for learning in the 21^st century. The following section of this chapter provides a summary of these new elements in order to outline the vision of language learning in the 21^st century.