Resources

Keri Facer and Martin Owen, Futurelab

The full version of this paper is available to download in pdf format - see box below. On this page you'll find the first part of the paper.

Introduction

There is no one best way to learn a foreign language nor a single optimal set of teaching materials. This is because learners will vary both in how they learn and what they need and want to learn. It follows therefore, that there is no single 'magic bullet' that can be offered by ICTs to support language learning for all pupils and across all ages (see the Futurelab Literature Review in Languages, Technology & Learning by Jim Milton for further discussion of this position).

However, looking at the current provision of language teaching, and at the future languages strategy, there are a number of key roles that ICTs have the potential to fulfil in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) teaching and learning:

1. Increasing motivation to learn languages.
2. Enabling language learning across institutions and outside formal educational contexts.
3. Offering opportunities for meaningful practice of language in authentic contexts.
4. Offering opportunities for maximal progress in language acquisition through responsive diagnostic and feedback systems.
5. Providing innovative language engineering devices which provide just-in-time support in language use.
6. Enabling information and resource sharing between MFL teachers.

These aspects of ICT respond to three key issues in MFL teaching: first, the need to ensure that learning MFLs is seen as relevant and enjoyable to learners; second, the need to offer more opportunities for learners to practice using MFLs; and third, the need to support language teachers, particularly at primary level, in rural areas or teachers working in less popular languages.

To expand on these points, ICTs can be seen to offer a number of features that are currently in demand from the language teaching and learning communities.