BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Graduate School
City of Malolos, Bulacan

Potential Benefits of Technology in L2 Teaching and Learning

based on Computer Assisted Second Language Acquisition

Authors:

Ann Juneva A. Lozano, LPT

Our Lady of Fatima University-Valenzuela
lozanoannjuneva@gmail.com

Ramil G. Ilustre, PhD., DTESOL

Philippine Department of Education-Regional Office 3
ramil.ilustre@deped.gov.ph
ABSTRACT

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SLA or Second Language Acquisition, also referred to as L2 Learning or sometimes

Second Language Learning is a discipline that is dedicated to the study of how a

second language is learned or acquired. Computer Assisted SLA by Hayo Reinders and

Glenn Stockwell starts with a background of Computer assisted SLA, shedding a light

on the earlier focus to the current focus of research surrounding the area. Afterwards is

the discussion of the relationship between SLA and CALL (Computer Assisted

Language Learning) by providing findings of various research done in the different

areas of Language Acquisition. This is followed by drawing the 10 principles of SLA

listed by Ellis (2008) that seeks to further illustrate the said relationship between SLA

and CALL. The said principles could be used as basis for classroom instruction by

educators. This article however, will only further scrutinize the 5 research done around

the 5 aspects of L2. Namely: reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and

grammar.

KEYWORDS

Potential Benefits; Technology in L2 Teaching and Learning; Computer Assisted

Second Language Acquisition

______________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction

Technology is already very common in today’s teaching and learning environment. We

live in an era where technology dominates all aspects of the human life, education

included. Over the years, technology continued to pave the way for innovations in

teaching and learning. Thus, proving that it has huge potential in bridging the gap

between L2 learners and L2 acquisition. However, it still remains a fact that research in

the area of computer assisted SLA remains limited

Technology in today’s era requires internet connectivity in order to be of use to people.

Luckily, most regions already have access to the internet and gadgets have already

become affordable, making technology available to the majority. These technologies

come with different potentialities and possibilities referred to as “affordances”. The

existence of these affordances is the reason why research needs to be conducted in

different environments to investigate how technology can be used for L2 Learning. At

first, researchers would focus on effectiveness studies but this later on shifted into

studies that would look into how specific affordances could impact the process of

language learning (Reinders and White, 2010).

2. Literature Review

2.1 Computer assisted SLA

Computer assisted SLA refers to the use of technology in aiding 2 nd Language Learning

in the classroom. It is built up on theories that served as a basis for CALL (Computer

Assisted Language Learning) research (Hubbard 2008). Over the years, there have

been numerous research done in the field of CALL that covers different aspects of L2

including reading (Chun 2006), writing (Kessler, Bikowski, and Boggs 2012), listening

(Jones, 2003), speaking (Valle, 2005), vocabulary (Fuente, 2003), grammar (Sauro,

2009) and many more. Although it is said that these research only provided us a

glimpse of the potential technology has in L2 learning, it is without a doubt that

technology indeed helped in instruction. The result of these research vary given that

there were numerous factors involved and the difference in focus. Findings of the

research mentioned are as follows.

2.2 Calling on CALL: From Theory and Research to New Directions in Foreign

Language Teaching
Chun, 2006 in Calling on CALL: From Theory and Research to New Directions in

Foreign Language Teaching. In Chapter 1, CALL: Where Are We and Where Do We Go

From Here? The goal is to emphasize the widespread use of computers in modern life.

The author points out that many educators already use computers as an aid to both

management and education, but their use is overwhelmingly teacher-centric (Lara

Ducate and Nike Arnold 2006). They believe that new technologies such as computer-

assisted communication promise to shift language education to a more student-centric

constructivist perspective that emphasizes higher thinking. In Chapter 2, "Positioning

CALL in the Broader Methodological Context of Foreign Language Education and

Learning: Promises and Opportunities," Christopher Luke discusses "Some of the

existing and potential relationships between foreign language methodologies and

CALL." Check (p.21). His overview of learning theories, from activism to social

constructionism, emphasizes their positive and negative aspects, especially when they

appear in CALL activities. He said that new computer-mediated communication (CMC)

tools (IM, chat, blogs, and podcasts) that are popular with the younger generation allow

users to interact with each other and process information with experts. He states that it

offers multiple methods and suggests a constructive linguistic approach. Makes learning

easier.

2.2 Collaborative writing among second language learners in academic web-

based projects.

In this study, Kessler, G., Bikowski, D., & Boggs, J. (2012) looked at how students co-

author using Google Docs. It is based on a study of how technology has influenced past

writing processes and how they have responded to past needs. First study question

they asked is how students would participate in the co-development process using a

web-based word processing tool. More LRCs were created than NLRC, but both types

of changes happened fluidly at the time of creation process. For example, students did

not wait for the content of the writing project to complete. Change the format of the
document (NLRC). Instead, they did the planning and formatting Changes or

contributions during the writing process. This is how this web-based word processing

tool can be considered flexible. It enables a fluid process of collaboration and writing. In

LRC for forms, most changes were made in the order spelling, punctuation, and spaces

change. Grammar error changes (plural, pronoun, part of speech, tense, etc.) It didn't

take place very often. It is unclear why students fixed what looked like a simpler form

error Spelling, punctuation, etc. (as opposed to more complex formal errors such as

verb forms). For NNES, it seems easier to change the spelling and spaces than to

change the tense of the verb. Or plural. These results are similar to those found in

Kessler's (2009) study of working students. In the collaborative wiki area. In this study,

students were able to make changes to formulate them correctly. Asked, but they often

chose not to do so in their writing and explained that they were unlikely to find these

errors. It's more important than meaning. In this study, students mainly paid attention to

their meaning making.

2.3 Supporting listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition with

multimedia annotations

Jones, L. C. (2003) argues that there is a greater chance for students to remember

more prepositions of listening texts if they were given visual and verbal annotations

compared to those students who were only given one annotation (visual or verbal).

However, comprehension is affected by the student’s individual level of comprehension.

Using visual and aural annotations produced different results. Prior knowledge of

vocabulary also affects how much comprehension a student can get. Moreover,

comprehension of given texts was said to be more difficult for those who were not

provided by any annotations at all.

2.4 Analyzing oral skills in voice e-mail and online interviews

Valle, 2005 found out that synchronous online oral assignments and online oral

interviews are valuable experiences for students. It provides a permanent record of oral

development. Reading and practice tasks were short and provided frequent insights into

student interlanguage development. In their study, the 30 second file was quick and

easy tasks performed by students and listened to by teachers. Students have the

opportunity to review repeat the file as many times as they like. Instead of chorus

reaction or facial expression (lip sync) the answers that can occur in F2F classes are

that each student has a real voice and cannot be hidden online. Using a desktop

recorder and creating a sound file (WAV) is quick, easy and cheap. I have a board the

ability to keep files larger in a digital drop box than in a mailbox system. At this point I'm

not aware of it Software that can be applied to assess all aspects of foreign language

learners' speaking. Until then Software created, FL students continue to rely on the

judgment of native and non-native speakers A speaker for determining the level of

intelligibility in terms of fluency, ability, and ability. Or Language teachers continue to

play an important role in providing feedback on learners' oral performance. Significant

verbal changes are not documented, but tend to be in the right direction, which is the

electronic method allowed me to "capture" these trends.

2.5 Computer-mediated corrective feedback and the development of L2 grammar

From pre- to immediate posttest, the improvement in mean scores on repeated items for

both feedback groups compared to the lack of improvement of the control group

suggests that at least in a chat environment, recasts and metalinguistic feedback were

helpful, albeit only statistically significantly so in the case of the metalinguistic feedback,

for these intermediate and advanced learners. Though both kinds Language Learning &

Technology 109 Shannon Sauro Corrective Feedback and the Development of L2

Grammar of corrective feedback resulted in gains in immediate knowledge of the target

form with repeated items, metalinguistic feedback may have had a greater effect than

did recasts for several reasons. First, the ambiguity of the corrective intent of recasts in
several cases may have persisted despite the use of text chat. As Ellis et al. (2006)

point out, full recasts, that is, recasts which consist of reformulations of the entire

utterance containing the initial error, may not be as helpful in pointing learners to the

location of the error as are partial recasts, which consist only of reformulations of the

error minus the rest of the initial utterance. In other words, the more information the

learner is confronted with, the more difficult it may be for the learner to locate and

identify the portion that is reformulated. This may have been the case in this study, in

which, as a result of the high level of proficiency of the learners, some of the recasts

were potentially too long to be immediately effective. This can be seen in Excerpt A in

which the reformulation of the target form comes at the very end of a 26-word sentence.

2.6 Is SLA interactionist theory relevant to CALL? A study on the effects of com-

puter-mediated interaction in L2 vocabulary acquisition.

This study shows that both face-to-face and CM, text-based interaction, where learners

need to negotiate the meaning of target words, seem to be equally effective in

promoting written receptive and productive acquisition and retention of L2 vocabulary.

However, CM negotiated interaction seems to be less effective in promoting oral

acquisition of L2 words, especially when it comes to the productive end of acquisition

(the results for receptive oral acquisition are not conclusive, given the steady gains that

learners in Group 2 showed 1 week and 3 weeks after the treatment). CM, synchronous

interaction seems to be a good substitute for face-to-face interactions for the many

reasons specified in the literature review. However, it may not be the best answer for

development of productive, oral skills. CM interaction tasks where negotiation of

meaning takes place clearly seem to be of great benefit to help learners advance in

their L2 lexical development. In line with Long (1996) and Gass (1997), we can suggest

that cognitive factors such as attention and depth of processing are the key to unveiling

what elements in the negotiation process facilitate L2 vocabulary development through

CM, synchronous interactive tasks.

3. Methodology

The methods used by the researchers in gathering data is both qualitative and

quantitative in nature. Respondents were gathered to participate in conducting the

different studies surrounding L2 acquisition. This was done through following a

systematic and ethic-bound process of data collection. After data was gathered,

statistics was applied and the results were then analyzed and interpreted.

4. Conclusion
Indeed, the field of education still has a long way to go in terms of using the technology

in its full potential in teaching and learning a second language. Although Computer

Assisted SLA presented us with the fact that research done surrounding technology is

limited despite its ubiquity, the results of the body of research made provided us with

solid proof of how technology can help learners acquire a second language and how

teaching could have more advancements in the future. The cited studies in this paper

proved that using technology is better than not using it at all as part of the teaching-

learning process. Results show the effectiveness of using technology in all aspects

where L2 acquisition is involved.

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