Lisa's+Annotations

The focus of my project is to //determine the effectiveness of using Web 2.0 technologies in getting students to **use** the second language they are learning// (still needs refining). To this end, I have focused my review of the literature on 1) best practices in the foreign languague classroom, 2) research on second language learning attitudes and motivation, 3) the effects of music on language learning and 4) technology in the foreign language classroom.

Some notes: I still have a few outstanding articles which need to be annotated. I have to shorten some of the longer annotations presented here as they are really too long and serve more as my notes. L2 stands for second language.

Any and all comments are greatly appreciated!

In this short article the author discusses the increasing trend of multimedia usage in the L2 classroom. In particular, the article reviews the benefits of language labs, that is computer labs dedicated to teaching students L2. These labs allow the instructor to provide the student with one on one time while on the computer and in discussion. This is especially important for the student who lacks confidence using the L2 or who may be too shy to speak out in class. The problem however, as with all technology, teachers don't have the time to learn new technology.
 * Bower, C. S. (2007). Se habla technology. //The Journal//, 34(6), 18-19.**

This article serves as a reminder that as cool as Web 2.0 technologies may be, don't forget about ramp up time!

This article describes content-based instruction (CBI), which is a popular teaching strategy in the L2 classroom. CBI involves task based learning and project work. The teacher focuses the lesson on a particular theme, for example, dinosaurs. The students are instructed to conduct research on the subject matter in the target language. The students also complete a project that is delivered in the target language. The article offers excellent examples of how to implement CBI in the classroom. It reminds me to use a theme-based content to drive the lesson.
 * Content-based instruction. (2007). Retrieved September 7, 2007, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/**


 * Csizer, K., & Dornyei, Z. (2005). The internal structure of language learning motivation and its relationship with language choice and learning effort. //The Modern Language Journal,// 89(1), 19-36.**

The authors of this research article analyze the internal structure of student motivation when learning a second language (L2). Their review of the literature suggests that there are seven motivational learning components, including intergrativeness, instrumentality, vitality of the L2 community, attitudes towards L2 community and speakers, cultural interests, linguistic self-confidence and milieu.

The study conducted by the authors took place in Hungary during 1993 and 1999. Eight thousand five hundred and ninety three students ages 13 to 14 were included in the study. All students were attending 8th grade in Hungarian schools and were studying one of five foreign languages.

Using structural equation modeling (SEM) the authors evaluate the internal structure of L2 motivation and its impact on motivational behavior. Their research finds that “integrativeness” is the most important factor motivating L2 learning behavior. Integrativeness refers to the learner’s desire to become integrated with the culture of the learned language.

The authors conclude that in order to fully explain the power of intergrativeness they must continue their research by applying the concept to content to various learning situations.

The article offers interesting insights into language learning motivation and offers food for thought on how to capitalize on integrativeness to motivate students in the L2 classroom.

I am particularly interested in what motivates students to use the learned language. To this end, I will capitalize on integrativeness by using music and songs to teach L2. This may give students the experience of the target language culture, thus motivating their desire to integrate with the culture.

This article is important to my study because it points to motivational factors that enable students to learn L2. It also suggests that motivation is not a factor that will determine the success of the student’s learning outcomes; rather that it drives the student behavior and perhaps attitudes toward learning L2.


 * Diadori, P. (1989). //An integrated audio-visual project for the use of pop songs as language learning and teaching supports//**. **Paper presented at the Man and Media Symposium, London.**

In these proceedings presented at an international conference on media, the author suggests multiple reasons for using songs in L2 teaching and learning. Among the reasons, the author suggests that songs are motivational; that they present authentic language models, that they make memorizing vocabulary easier, and that they present cultural elements.

The author suggests several methods for presenting songs and recommends presenting songs with images that support the lyrics.

This article was one of the first that I reviewed and helped me focus my research on music and L2 teaching and learning. It also presented a positive overview on how to successful music can be when applied to L2 teaching and learning.


 * Godwin-Jones, R. (2006). Tag clouds in the blogosphere: electronic literacy and social networking. //Language Learning & Technology,// 10(2), 8-15.**

This article came the closest I found thus far to offering a review of social networking as it relates to language learning. The author provides and an excellent review of new technologies impacting education. In the article, the author suggests that while all the new technology is exciting, there must be time and curriculum devoted to teaching students the notion of Web literacy. That is, there needs to be boundaries and objectives which will help the student identify and use appropriate technologies as learning tools.

The author states that one of the key features of the emerging technologies is that it offers an ever changing “blend of individualization and community involvement” (p. 6). And, electronic literacy offers a social dimension, which educators need to harness and to create language learning media elements that mirror the same kind of world wide web experiences students are experiencing in other aspects of their lives.

The author suggests that educators need to create student-centered with collaborative opportunities, while also allowing for the creative processes to flow and ample time for reflection.

On several levels, this article touches at the heart of my research project. As the author suggests, I will try to create a language learning media which mirrors student real life experiences by enabling them to acquire L2 vocabulary through pop music. I will also offer a “creative” environment with opportunities for reflection. Students will write their own lyrics, and lay them over instrumentals that they select. Completed projects will be published on the Web and students will have opportunities to not only share their reflections of the project, but also offer feedback to each other.

Finally, the author provides a wealth of online resources that I will continue to refer to as an L2 educator and dedicated technology user and infuser.


 * Hayes-Gigante, C. (2007). Best practices in the foreign language classroom (Telephone call ed.). Honolulu**.

On September 19, 2007 I conducted a telephone interview with Mrs. Cherie Hayes-Gigante, an award-winning foreign language instructor for high school students at Mid-Pacific Institute. She offered an overview of best practices in the foreign language classroom and discussed several Web 2.0 projects her L2 students produce.

Hayes-Gigante suggested that Total Physical Response (TPR) is an excellent teaching strategy for elementary and young L2 students. She also recommended Content-Based Instruction (CBI) as an instructional strategy and suggested employing themes that are relevant to the student’s particular needs.

Hayes-Gigante also employs music in the classroom. Her students create their own L2 songs in GarageBand. They publish their completed songs on the classroom web site. She said that the students really enjoy this type of project and work diligently to perfect their work. They are motivated by their peers because all completed work is peer-reviewed using rubrics. Finally, students have to write a reflection of their work.

Hayes-Gigante’s recommendations corroborate other experts in the field of best practices for teaching L2. Her use of music in the L2 classroom exemplifies research on the success of music’s positive impact in the L2 classroom. I will continue to seek her advice for my L2 classroom endeavors.


 * Heining-Boynton, A. L., & Haitema, T. (2007). A ten-year chronicle of student attitudes toward foreign language in the elementary school. //The Modern Language Journal,// 91(ii), 149-168.**

This 10-year study was used to determine student attitudes towards early foreign language learning. An exhaustive quantitative study was conducted with 7,038 elementary aged students who were tracked over a four-year period. A second qualitative study was then conducted 10—years later with 13 of the original students who were then studying a second language in high school.

The premise of the study proposed that if students have positive attitudes about learning L2 in at a young age (elementary school), then perhaps parents, schools and school boards would be more interested in preserving L2 at the elementary school level.

The two studies conducted were unique because of the long time frame in which the students were followed and because of the number of students involved in a U.S. study for foreign language.

A team of 25 L2 teachers, administrators and consultants helped to create the survey instruments used for the quantitative study. A pilot of the study was conducted prior to the final study. Validity tests of the instruments used for the study were found positive. The final study was administered to the same 7,000+ students over a 4-year period.

The qualitative study was created based on focus groups of the same student based who engaged in the original quantitative study. The survey instrument created for this qualitative study was administered to 13 students who volunteered to be interviewed over the telephone.

From the first study the researchers concluded that boys and girls had positive attitudes when responding to questions about the enjoyment of the L2 classes and teachers. However, over time boys and girls attitudes towards learning L2 were less positive.

Evidence from qualitative study revealed that the majority of students viewed learning the L2 with positive attitudes; however, girls were more positively inclined to continue with their L2 studies in high school.

In the conclusion of the article, the researchers correlate the findings of both studies and suggest that young learners see the need to learn L2 in elementary school. Thus supporting their original premise that since students view L2 with positive attitudes, L2 programs should remain in the elementary schools.

The article presents interesting findings that apply to my study. The article demonstrated a decline in student attitudes towards studying L2 over time. How can music, songs and Web 2.0 technologies help students to maintain positive attitudes about learning the L2 and keep them motivated?

The study showed that for students, using the target language outside of the classroom proved difficult and impacted on their attitudes towards learning the L2. Can the use of Web 2.0 help students continue the use of the target language outside the classroom?

Another interesting result of the study as that the older students (from the qualitative study) determined that L2 was not as important as other core subjects they studied in school because of the short amount of time spent on the L2. This created a sense of a lowered level of importance on campus. As a result, students had less positive attitudes about learning the L2. How can we elevate the importance of L2 on campus? And, if we do elevate its importance, will students have a more positive attitude about learning and even using the target language?

The authors acknowledged the difficulty most L2 teachers have in teaching foreign language because of the large number of students they see in one week and the limited time they have with them. They wondered how can we help L2 teachers with tools to support and nurture positive attitudes towards learning L2? This is a perfect segue to my study in which I hope to show that Web 2.0 tools may be one way to help motivate and foster positive attitudes towards learning L2, and may be useful as a way to promote the use of the L2 outside of the classroom.

This concept is intriguing – can a well-packaged suite of Web 2.0 tools be created specifically to support the L2 teacher and students? Do I smell a dissertation subject? Entrepreneurial opportunities?


 * Kanel, K. (1997). Teaching with music: a comparison of conventional listening exercises with pop song gap-fill exercises. //JALT Journal//, 19(2), 217-231.**

This article reports on a study comparing the progress in listening comprehension for two groups. One group was given listening practice with conventional materials and the other with popular song gap-fill exercises. The study compared pre and post-test scores of both groups using a basic listening comprehension test instrument. The results of the study demonstrated that both groups improved equally and made significant progress. However, on post-treatment questionnaires, the song group expressed both higher approval for the time spent on the tasks and increased interests in the learned language.

The subjects of the study included 693 native speakers of Japanese enrolled in English languages classes at a Japanese university. The results of the pre and posts test were analyzed based on the raw scores obtained. The results showed no significant difference between treatments. However, in the follow up questionnaire, the song-group expressed significantly more interest in studying English than the text group.

Ultimately, the author suggests that music in the L2 classroom is not just an entertainment or mood-setting element. It can be used to teach L2.

The articles findings are of interest to my topic of study because they suggest that the students showed a preference for learning the language with the music and took more interest in the language itself.

It also provides insight on oppositional views of using pop songs in the L2 classroom. For example, opponents suggest that pop music tends to use slang language and is not spoken as clear as conversational language. Thus, students learning the L2 by listening to pop music will not develop proper vocabulary or pronunciation abilities. This insight provides a useful caveat that I will consider as I conduct my study.


 * Medina, S. L. (1993). The effect of music on second language vocabulary acquisition. FLES News: National Network for Early Language Learning, 6(3), 6-28.**

The author reviews literature that points to empirical evidence of the positive effects of using music as a vehicle for first and second language acquisition. According to the author, at the time of the article (1990) the matter had not been well researched. As such, the purpose of the author’s investigation was to determine if music would bring about language acquisition to the same extent that other traditional methods do. The author also considers how might illustrations impact vocabulary acquisition and, the interactive relationship between the music/no music and illustrations/no illustrations.

As a result of the study, the author found that there were no statistically significant differences between groups having music and not having music, between having illustrations and not having them; or for the interaction of the 2 variables. However, the author did find descriptive differences where there the gain in vocabulary scores were consistently higher for the groups in which either music or illustrations were used and highest for the group in which both were used.

To arrive at the results the author conducted pre and posttest with 48-second grader limited-English speaking students.

The author concludes that music can be used as effectively as traditionally based teaching of foreign language acquisition and that music in L2 instruction is more than merely a mood setter or seen as an entertainment factor.

This article is relevant to my research project in that it offers guidance on how to conduct pre and post test for testing foreign language vocabulary acquisition through the use of music. It also offers insight into the topic of incidental vocabulary acquisition, whereby students acquire vocabulary incidentally rather than as an intended course of content delivery by the instructor. The author suggests that much in the same way students acquire vocabulary incidentally through reading, listening to stories and watching television, music is also a vehicle for incidental vocabulary acquisition. This is important to my study in that I had originally planned to limit the student’s use of vocabulary and phrases to the specific content we have covered (to date). However, upon reading this article, I will allow the student to integrate “incidental” vocabulary that he may have acquired from sources external to our classroom content.

The author referred to research indicating that when lyrics carry meaning to the student, the retentive effects are maximized. I hope to capitalize on this concept by employing themes the student experiences in his everyday life, such as greetings, family, etc.

The testing instrument used by the author may be applicable to my study. He used a 20-item multiple choice paper and pencil test where test questions were administered orally and students had to circle the illustration they believed represented the correct answer.


 * Miller, M. (2007). Speaking of technology. //Interactive Educator//, 3(3), 38-39.**

In this article, the journalist interviewed a director of foreign languages for a large school district on the east coast. The director emphasized the importance of learning a second language and gave some examples of how her schools were embracing technologies in the L2 classroom. She discussed a campaign her schools were promoting to raise the awareness about learning languages and how language learning not only gives students a chance to speak with non-English speakers, but also helps them embrace cultural diversity.

The article was of interest to me because it demonstrated that L2 is worthwhile in lower elementary and that perhaps it may be a growing curriculum.


 * Salaberry, M. R. (2001). The use of technology for second language learning and teaching: a retrospective. //The Modern Language Journal//, 85(1), 39-56.**

This opinion paper that suggests today’s use of technology in the L2 classroom is used not because of the success in learning it produces, but rather because of the excitement it creates.

The article presents an argument for the need to thoroughly review how past technologies used in the L2 classroom impacted learning in order to better understand how we might analyze the current impact of technologies used in today’s L2 classroom.

The author, whose original paper was cited in the Modern Language Journal and subsequently reprinted in the book, “Research in Technology and Second Language Education Developments and Directions,” laments that while The Modern Language Journal is one of the oldest and most influential foreign language pedagogical journals it has not covered a critical assessment of today’s technology impact on pedagogical approaches applied to the L2 classroom.

Salaberry concludes that the impact of technologies in the past on pedagogical effects of L2 were well-researched, whereas today, there is perhaps an exaggerated enthusiastic reaction to technological breakthroughs, and that a careful assessment and review of the way technologies in the past were used and their effectiveness may prove useful in a more judicious assessment of the pedagogical potential of modern technologies for future applications of L2 teaching and learning.

The article provides an eye-opening look at looking beyond the “coolness” factor of technology and considering its true impact on teaching and learning in L2. Reading this article helped remind me to use technology for a purpose, rather than for the sake of just using it because it is there!


 * Shtakser, I. (2001). Using music and songs in the foreign language classroom. Retrieved September 7, 2007, from http://www.laits.utexas.edu/hebrew/music/music.html**

In this article the author suggests that current research recommends using the student’s everyday experiences of foreign language to enhance learning. Furthermore, the author suggests that web tools offer everyday experiences and provide a gateway to foreign culture. Pop music is an important everyday experience too. There is an abundance of literature that finds that while students learn just as much with songs as without songs in the L2 classroom, they find music-based L2 learning more enjoyable. Music is motivating. Music in the classroom helps to create a good learning atmosphere.

The author points to the problems with using pop songs in that many pop songs use non-standard grammar, and present a non-serious image. To avoid the problem, current research suggests teachers carefully review songs for proper grammar structure and appropriate language use.

This article corroborates many of the other articles on several areas. First of all, not all pop songs should be used in the L2 classroom: Only songs which present standard grammar should be used. Secondly, using music in the L2 classroom is enjoyable for students and offers students the same learning and vocabulary acquisition as traditional teaching methods. Finally, pop music offers students a cultural experience and perhaps helps to increase incidental language learning and may even create a naturalistic environment.


 * Total physical response. (2007). Retrieved September 7, 2007, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/**

This article discusses the well-known teaching method called Total Physical Response (TPR). TPR was created by Dr. James J. Archer. Its methodology is based upon the way that children learn their mother’s native tongue. The child eventually learns to speak by hearing the spoken words and watching the related action. Applied to the classroom setting, the teacher mimics this type of language acquisition by presenting students with a command and students performing the related actions. Eventually, students issue the commands, thus using the learned language.

The article provided me with a good overview of how TPR works and how to use it in the classroom. It applies to my study in that I will use commands to help student produce their L2 mash ups.


 * Vogel, T. (2001). Learning out of control: some thoughts on the world wide web in learning and teaching foreign languages. //ICT and Language Learning: A European Perspective//. Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers, b.v., Lisse**.

This article asks a number of questions which calls for research on the use of the Web as a language-learning environment. The author’s main question is whether or not the Web can serve as a “naturalistic” environment for learning a foreign language. A naturalistic environment is equal to a visit or stay in a target-language environment. The author is interested in this concept because he refers to literature which has shown that languages can be learned in a naturalistic environment without formal instruction.

The combined effects of the author’s review of the literature leads him to conclude that the web can in fact serve as a naturalistic environment. For example, he finds extensive literature suggesting that motivation is a key element in second language acquisition and that students are motivated to learn when using the Web. Furthermore, he finds current literature which suggests that students learn more when they are presented with everyday life experiences and that students are using the web in the classroom and at home. It has become part of their everyday life.

The author found research that suggested the Web “dissolves the dichotomy between real life and the classroom” (p. 135) because it offers an authentic environment whereby the student’s learning is not just limited to inside the classroom. Like a naturalistic setting where the student learns language incidentally, the Web can also offer incidental language learning. The student must navigate web resources much like the streets of a city, acquiring new vocabulary along the way as he stops to ask directions, or clicks through a series of pages to finally arrive at his destination.

The author arrives at several additional conclusions, which he suggests as future research. For example, while the Web offers a naturalistic environment problems are abound. First of all, most web pages are developed by web designers, rather than by subject matter experts. These sites can be filled with improper language usage and structure. In many cases, the site’s design is often better than the content it carries. Could this lead to students learning poor and improper grammar? Since the Web presents a culture of its own, how would teachers infuse cultural diversity into teaching if the Web was the main source of learning? And, how do teachers “achieve a balance between face-to-face communication” and other Web-based in language and learning teaching? It is this last question that is of particular relevance to social networking and Web 2.0.

It is this last question that the author asks that is of particular relevance to social networking and Web 2.0 which applies to my research. I intend to use Web 2.0 to affect the use second language learning with my students.

Another question the author poses is the issue of publishing. The author is to be applauded for his early concern of publishing on the web. He asks that while more and more students are publishing their second language learning products on the Web, who is reading these published works? If it is mainly the students and their teachers, than what purpose is being served? It may be much more effective to specify a native speaking who could offer students advice and critical feedback. Furthermore, the author suggests that products should be developed with the specific audience in mind and that partnerships could be formed between the audience and the student publishers to realizes meaningful publishing