Tech-Talk: Using Technology to Teach Bilingual Students

摘要

Technology used in a constructive way, such as the interactive whiteboard (IWB), effectively diminishes the reading achievement gap between English language learners (ELL) and non-ELL students (Lopez, 2009). Within the last decade, the variety of available technologies for the classroom has grown significantly, while the presence of English language learners and English as a second language (ESL) students has also experienced a significant increase within our nation’s schools. This self-study was designed in response to these changes by investigating how technology can be used to teach language arts skills to bilingual students. The technologies of SMARTboard, iPad, and Internet websites were utilized to teach the language arts concepts of setting, sequence of events, and phonemic awareness to bilingual kindergarten students. Through content analysis of field notes, student work samples, and questionnaires, the researcher hoped to determine how the use of technology enhances students’ application of language arts skills. This researcher also wished to explore the students’ perceptions of using technology for learning. The integration of technology can significantly improve ELL and ESL students’ comprehension of language arts skills while addressing their unique needs as learners.