Threshold concepts: multilingual writers and writing in electronic spaces

11/18/2020

OVERVIEW: It's a bit of a mash up to try to put these two ideas together--or at least it would have felt like a mash up until 2020 when nothing about writing in electronic spaces is not worth exploring. Right now, teachers everywhere are teaching in online spaces, including literacy instruction, which includes, helping our students to be strong writers. They are teaching online and in person and doing both at the same time. And sometimes that also includes working with multilingual readers and writers.

I have an idea that the pandemic will be setting back online education a good fifteen years, because I don't think anyone involved in the past school year has the stomach for it. However, writing and technology has a long history--at one time, even a pencil was new technology. Thought of one way, writing itself is technology. For today's discussion post, I want to think about this fact in relationship to multilingual readers and writers. As we think about this, let's not forget what we know from Inoue, from Villanueva. And let's think about this idea of "threshold concepts." Threshold concepts in writing are the same for multilingual writers as they are for monolingual writers, sure, but in an electronic space? In the brave new world of computing and the interet? Social media? In truth this is where all of our students will be doing most of their writing for most of their lives.

POST: Considering the reading from the past two weeks, in what ways does technology support multilingual readers/writers who are trying to learn how to be successful students in English? In what ways does it gum up the works for them? What possibilities and challenges does it present to teachers of these students? Certainly feel to connect this to your actual lived experience in the classroom--either as a teacher or as a student, as a monolingual or multilingual reader and writers, as a someone who embraces technology or who doesn't.

RESPOND: Once you've posted, read and respond to more than one of your colleagues.

18 Comments

Katelyn Fitzsimmons

11/19/2020 07:30:00 am

We touched upon this topic a lot during our time together on the 18th, and as we discussed, this is an extremely loaded topic. While I think the use of virtual platforms are awesome, and can be used effectively -- not that we have a choice, our ESL students are struggling dramatically in this online space. One thing that I don't think we mentioned last night is the value of one on one communication with these students. I find it so difficult to communicate with people at home because I don't speak the language. Its disheartening to know that students are struggling and I have very little way of knowing what exactly their struggling with because written communication is compromised. These students have started to become reintroduced into the building and working with our ESL staff, which I am so grateful for. It's been about a week and I already see a huge difference. One thing I think technology supports with multilingual students is the immediate nature of feedback I am able to give. I feel like this type of communication is the most effective and the most communication I have with the students in general.

Erin Slayton

12/4/2020 11:20:52 am

Katelyn,
When you mention the loss of 1-on-1 communication, this is something I resonate with deeply. Because everything is so rushed now, and resources are being stretched even further than they were pre-pandemic, it is so unfortunate to realize that the marginalized communities & the at-risk populations are likely the most dramatically affected by these sudden changes due to Covid-19. When we switched to fully remote last Spring, hardly any of my ELL students were able to access the education, for varying reasons, but seeing that not much progress has been made on this front since last school year is, like you said, disheartening. On a positive note my district has been mostly hybrid this year, so at least these students have in-person learning opportunities, but I can only imagine students like mine in districts that are trying to navigate fully remote options. I agree that the immediacy of technology can help, especially when it comes to feedback and clarification, but I also mentioned in my post that this inundation of tech this year has proved to be incredibly challenging for these students who are navigating a new linguistic and cultural setting already.

Maeve McDonagh

12/8/2020 01:15:48 pm

Katelyn,
While I wrote my response I thought of similar concerns relevant to ESL students. Your response also inspired me to think about the fact that students now have to reconcile their use of two languages within the same space. Previously they would speak English in school and their native language at home, however, now everything is happening at home. This could pose a problem for students struggling to differentiate between their use of different languages. I also like your point about miscommunication with these students when communication is solely taking place online as I saw other teachers saying they are experiencing similar problems with online learning and ESL students.

Diana Cross

11/29/2020 09:08:15 am

Technology can certainly be both beneficial and detrimental to all learners, particularly ELL students and multilingual readers/ writers. Technology, when implemented well, can provide students with the visuals they need that will support their learning and connect to background knowledge. For example, using a technology tool called “pear deck” enables students to participate interactively in a slideshow presentation. They can view slides, which an ELL teacher may use for a vocabulary lesson, and then “respond” virtually based on the prompt that their teacher provides- use the word in a context sentence, draw a picture to represent the word, etc. Students can practice their writing and speaking in English when participating in the slideshow. Another excellent technology tool that has become popular due to the pandemic, is ed-puzzle. With Ed-Puzzle, students watch videos that might support or extend the content they are learning. The teacher can create questions beforehand that automatically pause the video and require students to respond. A teacher can also adapt a video that might have great visuals but advanced language, and record his/her own narration to replace the original. These are great tools that can help an ELL student. At the same time, however, new technology tools are often confusing, especially to beginner ELL students and given the current remote or hybrid modes of learning on zoom, it has been nearly impossible at times to explain or provide a short tutorial for using these platforms. Zoom classes are incredibly challenging for ELL students, who must have a strong grasp on their listening skills in order to be successful or participate in class discussions. On zoom, multilingual or ELL students may not be able to read their teachers lips as well or to recognize facial cues and expressions as they would in person. Remote learning creates a challenging barrier. It can also be difficult for teachers on Zoom or in a hybrid schedule to recognize whether these students are struggling with language barriers, or if they lack motivation or feel disengaged. ELL students often struggle to fit in and technology can sometimes highlight their differences- particularly if their grade involves participation and they feel self-conscious speaking. Technology is sometimes isolating and should be used to compliment traditional learning practices not replace them. Ultimately, students still enjoy and benefit from handwritten activities and assignments that use pen and paper, and that is something that should not disappear.

11/30/2020 07:17:06 am

Diana -- this conversation is so important to have. I see it all the time in my virtual classroom. Kids are weary of participating in these online spaces ALREADY, never mind throwing a language challenge in the mix. Luckily, our ELL students at my school have started coming into the building so that they are able to get some guidance from the ELL staff who are working directly with them. I am obviously grateful that we have technology to still do our jobs, but with that comes more complications and responsibilities, especially for our students.

Nicole Moscone

12/1/2020 02:14:29 pm

Diana, I think you are so right that technology can be very isolating. I think the added use of technology can make participation more intimidating. My students are hybrid, and I notice such a big difference the weeks they are in school versus the weeks at home. I think even receiving directions on Zoom and reading the directions on a computer is a lot harder than listening to us give directions in school, and having the ability to check in as they work on their assignment. I find it challenging to help them navigate apps and websites over the computer. I have never heard of Pear deck but I will definitely check that out!

12/1/2020 02:02:55 pm

Technology has had a tremendous impact on ELL education. It has many benefits that are helpful for ELL students;however, like anything else it also has its disadvantages. There are many apps, websites, and resources online that have personally helped me as a teacher help my ELL students. Translation apps and websites have proved to be incredibly useful especially for my ELl students who could not speak or read any English. These apps have allowed me to provide my students with assignments in English and their native language. Newsela is another resource that has helped me better teach my ELL students. On Newsela, I am able to assign different texts and articles at various reading levels which allows me to differentiate reading for my ELL students that seemed impossible without technology. This year, We have had access to Sora, an online platform in which students can read thousands of books for free on their computer or phone. This made me think about Inoue and making sure that race and economic status do not make education unequitable. Many of our students who do not have the opportunity to buy new books and in turn sometimes end up reading fewer books in their childhood now have access to thousands of books at home. The downside of technology is that it can add another layer to education that can complicate or confuse students. It can be difficult to learn to use these tools and students who are not familiar may be overwhelmed. With more technology use comes more socialization fears and issues. ELL students already typically are hesitant to participate and engage in discussions and I think using so much technology has only added to the fears of participation and collaboration.

12/6/2020 07:02:19 am

Hi Nicole,

I think a lot of what you said here is similar to what I was thinking as well. I too use Newsela and love it for the adaptable text levels with ELLS! Sora has been an excellent tool in my district as well, especially for many of the families that don't have the money to buy a new book and don't have a library card. Normally, we'd introduce new technology in the classroom, and would be able to provide ELL students with extra support to help them navigate and use it, but you're right in that some of it is confusing to them and in a zoom setting it's almost impossible to alleviate their fears and help them be totally successful. More than that, it's obvious to their classmates that these students need help. It can be hard to discreetly help students on zoom. In the classroom, it's certainly not discreet when a teacher helps them, but I feel that many of the students need technological help. ELL students on zoom often need language and technological support.

Andrea Hicks

12/2/2020 04:27:57 pm

As I considered how to answer this question, I couldn't help but think that I would be answering this question incredibly differently if it were during any of my other teaching years. Currently, obviously, technology has become our Hail Mary-our last resort in a pandemic. The number of students who are already somewhat lost in the classroom is overwhelming--many of them being ELs. Having to rely solely on technology has only exacerbated this issue. Of course, considering a pre-Covid world, I can see easily that there are multiple advantages offered to EL students with the use of technology in a classroom. Whether the teacher's purpose is to teach the language or to include the student in the lesson, there are multiple resources available. I know that MANY teachers use Pixar shorts, and I have found that these are a great way to engage English Learners- they are able to participate in the class without insecurity. Peardeck has also been an amazing resource to gauge their levels informally and without embarrassing anybody. However, I have too often seen technology become a crutch for ELs, and I worry that the frustration in lack of communications will cause them to shut down. Honestly, I have seen teachers shut down and get frustrated with miscommunications because of technology... and these teachers are fluent in English. It is hard to imagine that all of our ELs are resilient and capable of navigating miscommunications as skillfully as adults... and even adults have struggled lately.

12/4/2020 11:40:13 am

Andrea,
I appreciate you mentioning some specific resources that you have found helpful when working with this multilingual demographic of students! I’ll definitely have to check out Pixar shorts, as I’m always looking for multi-modal texts to bring into the classroom. I’ve also never heard of Peardeck before, so I’ll be looking into this as well! It’s interesting that you mention how even native English speakers are experiencing tech-fatigue, as I find myself running out of stamina at the end of each week, largely since so much time is spent in front of some digital outlet or another. Like you said, I can only imagine the challenge this must be for ELL students, who must navigate new territory, or fall away with good habits and end up relying too heavily on tech. I thought the Non-Native Speakers of English chapter was interesting when it noted that “learner attitudes toward the acquisition of the target language are related to learner attitudes toward target language speakers, the target language culture, the social value of learning the target language and … the learners’ perceptions of their own culture” (320). I think a lot of this is coming into play today, as students can see how widespread technology is and how it can assist them, so they could easily fall back on it as a “crutch” like you mention, if there is no great effort being made to help aid this multilingualism.

12/8/2020 01:03:49 pm

Andrea,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with online learning. When writing my response I was skeptical of how teachers could gauge the level their EL students were at via online learning, but you seem to have a few really good strategies for doing just that. I also had not considered that reading English online alone with no tone or body language can be overwhelming to students. Also, students can walk away from their computer in their home as opposed to a classroom where they have to stick it out.

12/4/2020 11:00:16 am

I enjoyed the Non-Native Speakers of English chapter by Edlund and Grisworld, as I found it helped contextualize a lot of the history behind theories of language acquisition, and how this field of thought continues to develop as the population of students changes with each generation. I thought it was important how they noted that each second-language learner “already knows a lot about how language works and how people communicate, based on experiences with the first language” (319) as this helps those working with students understand that they are approaching this new language already having funds of knowledge (Moll), that they can draw on and apply to what is new.
Considering how the digital age both aids and inhibits this second language acquisition, I have seen in my teaching experience how technology can help to form a bridge between the new and the old, keeping in mind that these students rely on “comprehensible input” in order to increase understanding of the language they are learning. I try to apply this in my classroom, for example, with my Portuguese speaking students who are mostly in the entering/developing stage, when I use the live translation subtitle feature on PowerPoint, so they have a real-time translation on the board of what I’m speaking aloud. I also heavily rely on translation apps on my phone to communicate with these students, so there is a back-and-forth conversation in which we both attempt a new language – I’ll read what I’m trying to say in Portuguese, and they can see it typed in both languages. Because my English class focuses a lot on discussion and dialogue, I’ve found the online discussion forums to be helpful for multi-lingual students who do not yet have the confidence to speak out loud with peers, but who can use the internet to translate webpages, and respond to given prompts in their own independent time.
As a downfall however, many of my multilingual students are overwhelmed by the tech-heavy year we are in, and trying to navigate a new language, on top of countless new technologies, can be its own burden. I appreciated that the chapter mentioned how “literature, culture, and education have rhetorical influences beyond organizational patterns” because it helps me understand the larger context in which my students fit. I also consider how each students language and culture impacts how they communicate in English, which often differs from the Standard English used in school, and how I can best reach them by teaching that “standard written English must be considered as a new dialect to be acquired.” I think this helps destabilize the oppressive nature of Standard English & grammar expectations, teaching this instead as a tool to audience and purpose, without disregarding the native tongue and complex cultural and linguistic identities of students.

Carl Olson

12/9/2020 12:41:19 pm

Erin, I loved your observation on how discussion boards have been helpful to multilingual students who are not yet confident enough to speak out loud. That is an excellent point. Not all language learners are at the same place in their abilities or skills or confidence - some have an easier time speaking and others writing/reading. It was also great to see the other benefits you've found with technology as a teacher. It sounds like you already do an excellent job of making things accessible for your multilingual students. It is true though, as you said, that trying to navigate a new language AND new technologies is extremely overwhelming - made even more difficult by way we had to suddenly shift to online learning. There is not always enough time built in to the day, or even the school year, to properly guide these students through this new digital world and still have time to cover everything else they need to learn. I think that there needs to be more work done in considering the right technology and pedagogical approaches and how to implement it correctly in order to truly benefit these students.

12/8/2020 12:54:06 pm

I think one way in which this shift to online learning has been detrimental to L2 student’s learning is in the fact that teachers are now limited to seeing student’s products and not their process. When teachers could previously see their students while they worked, teachers had a better idea of how their students were doing, how long the work was taking them, and they could know that the students are not simply looking up answers. With online learning, teachers now see the products students turn in, but are in the dark as to why these students may be struggling and what exactly they are struggling with. Additionally, with all of the information on the internet at their hands, students may be tempted to become reliant on autocorrect and grammar checks rather than internalizing knowledge about writing. Lastly, online learning can be detrimental to multilingual students because of the ease of access to services such as google translate. If students do not understand a prompt they may turn to google translate to help them. This is detrimental to their learning because their teacher won’t know they are struggling and the student is learning to become reliant on the internet for reading comprehension. On the other hand, as stated in the question, these students will write online for the rest of their life. This shift to online learning may be positive in some respects because it familiarizes kids with online writing earlier. Learning how to effectively write online will be a useful and necessary skill for this generation of learners.

12/8/2020 05:05:12 pm

Hi Maeve,

You're absolutely right! It's so frustrating to see product but not to see the process my students are engaging in. Furthermore, it's become so much harder to help them in the process- technological glitches or their resistance to share their computer screens. It's also so much more challenging to try to give the students feedback or to have them engage in the process step of revising. I think it's all about balance, which is what you're getting at in your last sentence. The problem is that there is no balance and little or no choice with the restrictions that the pandemic has put in place.

12/9/2020 12:32:14 pm

Maeve, you make a really good point about teachers not getting to see the learning process as easily while everything is online. While of course even when things were as they were before with face-to-face not all of the learning process was visible to teachers, with the shift to remote, there is even less of an opportunity to connect or watch their process. That means it's easier for multilingual students to slip through the cracks. I'm not sure what the solution is right now, because there are so many moving parts, but it is important to look more into how teachers can best get a sense of multilingual students' learning process in the digital classroom.

12/9/2020 12:24:35 pm

Technology is a wonderful, and now integral, part of human life, but this does not mean that it is without its drawbacks and challenges. Translation apps like Google Translate can allow multilingual learners to find the right word for what they’re trying to say, but an overreliance can also cause a hindrance to learning. The problem is less about an English language learner using such technology, but more about not always knowing the best ways to utilize, or not utilize, it to their benefit. Digital literacy needs to be a key part of the modern classroom in order to ensure students know how to navigate the world with these digital tools, resources, and environments in a way that will be beneficial for themselves and others.
There is a constantly evolving world of technology out there, and even the most tech savvy teachers and students are not always up to date. It is important that teachers and students be a part of developing the technology and digital practices that will be right for everyone’s needs. Trying to play catch up can cause a hindrance to progress, and we saw that with the sudden shift to online learning due to the pandemic. The need to hurry up and find literally anything that could sustain traditional classroom learning as soon as possible meant that not all of the proper research, testing, and pedagogical work was done. Even with the summer break and time to adjust practices for fall, most schools and teachers built upon what they already knew from spring. This means that a lot of multilingual students’ needs were not necessarily at the forefront of everyone’s minds when implementing these practices. In order to correct this, more work needs to be done on what technology and practices can enhance and support multilingual students’ education in an age of remote, digital learning.

Kyle Rego

12/9/2020 01:27:44 pm

As many of my classmates have said in this discussion board section, the presence of technology in the classroom has never been so important. I can only imagine what school would have looked like if the pandemic hit while I was in high school in the early 2000s. Everyone I knew at the time and I had a computer. We used computers in school and we used computers to keep in touch with one another and for entertainment. However very few people had a webcam. Video chatting was in its infancy and it was most often a paid service. In other words, we educators are almost lucky that recent events have occurred in the historical moment that they have.

However, it seems like technology has been an integral resource for multilingual students for even longer than it has for their non-multi-lingual counterparts. In my experience working with multi-lingual students, cell phones have served an incredibly important role. They allow students unlimited access to translational resources in class, and apps that can translate spoken language. This has helped open communication between myself and the students that I have worked with.

However, this year I am working with a student from Peru who is repeating her senior year in America. Her family moved to the states only last year. She has told me that working on school work 3 days a week at home has been a serious challenge. She says that Google Meets are helpful, but she largely stays silent during them because she is simply trying to keep up. She finds it hard to understand what students are saying when they don't have their cameras turned on. She feels like she would be making progress on her English much more quickly if she were forced to be in school and navigate social situations more frequently. Instead, she spends most of her week at home speaking Spanish with her family and doing work independently. While she does have absolutely unfettered and unlimited access to resources online she reported to me that there simply is no better practice than having conversations with students in person

Threshold concepts: multilingual writers and writing in electronic spaces

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