Technology and the future of language teaching

Abstract

We are living in a time with unprecedented opportunities to communicate with others in authentic and compelling linguistically and culturally contextualized domains. In fact, language teachers today are faced with so many fascinating options for using technology to enhance language learning that it can be overwhelming. Even for those who are inclined to experiment with emerging technologies, it can be challenging to identify which resources, tools, or Web sites may best fit a particular lesson, activity, or goal. Many of the most compelling opportunities are situated within the same global social and technology trends that have become commonplace in our daily lives, including social media, artificial intelligence, big data, and augmented reality. This article addresses the extent to which technology‐mediated social interactions dominate our daily lives, how we can leverage those interactions to the benefit of our learners, and how we can engage them in learning experiences in ways that will encourage them to practice language extensively.

Balancing old and new: Integrating competency-based learning into CALL teacher education

“…However, current call teacher education is still problematic, with issues that prohibit teachers from learning as much about call as they might (Başal, 2015;Hanson-Smith, 2016;Kessler, 2016Kessler, , 2018; one of the most salient issues is the lack of sufficient and appropriate courses in the curriculum (Dudeney, Hockly, & Pegrum, 2013;Hubbard, 2008;Peters, 2006). Hubbard (2008) noted over ten years ago that the most common approach to call teacher education was a single course with a selection of technological tools; Hanson-Smith (2016) notes that this trend has not changed much.…”

“…Hubbard (2008) noted over ten years ago that the most common approach to call teacher education was a single course with a selection of technological tools; Hanson-Smith (2016) notes that this trend has not changed much. This common approach typically features lecture with a focus on existing technologies (Kessler, 2018;Kessler & Hubbard, 2017), and many studies have found it to be less than effective in helping language teachers integrate technology effectively (e.g., Hegelheimer, 2006;Peters, 2006).…”

“…Along the same lines, the development call teacher education standards (e.g., Healey et al, 2011) has created a roadmap to meet long-term professional development goals and objectives in call teacher education. These standards can serve as a foundation to guide teachers towards thoughtful uses of technology in the language teaching and learning process (Kessler, 2018); Kessler and Hubbard (2017) note that teachers also need to be equipped with the expertise to take advantage of the wide variety of technologies that they may have at their disposal.…”

Winds of Change and Clouds of Ideas: What is the Future of ELT?

“…Teachers should be trained and prepared for teaching in a digital era, effectively using various tools. Teachers will face the overwhelming opportunities and choosing the relevant ones will be a major challenge (Kessler, 2018). They should also be ready to embrace blended teaching approach, mobile learning, concept of paperless teaching.…”

The foreign language reading brain: connecting the dots in the age of paper and pixel

“…There is abundant research literature detailing the many ICT applications and their practice in the foreign language classroom (Blake, 2016; Guan, 2014;Huang, 2014;Kessler, 2018;Levy, 2009;Park, Yang & Hsieh, 2014). The younger generations of language instructors who are now very familiar with the latest gadgets in technologies do not hesitate to put to test a variety of public and private programs and software.…”