Learner considerations: Who is this project for and why?

The audience for my project, identifying French websites for early primary students, is French immersion students in Maternelle (K) and grades 1 and 2.  These students are just starting to learn French and also to read and write.  The students have a variety of experiences with communication technology; some have played on cell phones, ipads and/or computers prior to attending school. 

These young students: (Morrison 2010)

·         are energetic and cannot sit still for a long time;
·         are learning to control their emotions and social interactions
·         have an active imagination,
·         are often confident and eager to be involved,
·         want to be helpful and cooperative,
·         are solitary and independent workers at the same time,
·         like to talk.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, the teachers would like to have opportunities in their “computer time”, or on classroom computers, to not only promote technology skills, but also French language learning.  I found a couple of research articles that support the use of computers and computer games for young students learning a second language.  McCarrick and Li (2007) reviewed a number of studies and concluded that “computers may not enhance gains in language development, (but) computers do provide an environment in which children use a large amount of language.”  Turgut and Irgin (2009) found that when the language is contextualized in video games, which provides settings and situations, players increase vocabulary use and have opportunities to practice vocabulary repetitively.  The following video (Early Childhood videos 2013) shows how the computer can provide repetition and take concrete concepts and make them more abstract.  In this video we see that computer work is more valuable for a student when the teacher is nearby to help with student’s questions.

Computer activities for this age group should be quite short, due to their attention spans.  The activities should provide context to help the students create meaning of the vocabulary, which brain research, has shown helps students learn and retain information (Characteristics of young learners 2009). Computer learning may appeal to students with different learning styles of types of intelligence (Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences).  Using a computer to learn will provide students with another activity to engage and play with second language, reinforcing learning. 

The identification of computer programs will support teachers since teachers are already busy with planning classroom activities.  Having a selected, curated links on the school website will minimize time spent teaching students how to locate learning games.  These links will also be available to the students at home providing repetition and enhancing language and other concept learning.

References:

Characteristics of Young Learners.  2009.  Pearson Education.  Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205535488.pdf

Early Childhood Videos.  Jan 30, 2013.  Introducing Technology to Young Children.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29ylsrxof48 (imbedded)

McCarrick, Katy and Xiaoming Li.  2006.  Buried treasure: the impact of computer use on young children’s social, cognitive, language development and motivation.  AACE Journal, 15(1) 73-79.  Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/25814/0000377.pdf?sequence=1

Morrison, G. S. 2008.  What are Kindergarten Children Like? From: Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education. Pearson Education. p 237-238.  Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-kindergarten-children-are-like/

SRI International.  2014.  EduSpeak® Speech Recognition Toolkit.  Image retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.sri.com/engage/products-solutions/eduspeak-speech-recognition-toolkit

Turgut, Yildiz and Pelin Irgin.  2009.  Young learners’ language learning via computer games.  Prodedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 1.  760-764.  Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.gsedu.cn/tupianshangchuanmulu/zhongmeiwangluoyuyan/language%20learning%20via%20computer%20games.pdf