Last week, some of my RSC colleagues and I attended a three-day ‘Welsh for Adults’ course. This was the second we’d been to, and we very much enjoyed both – hopefully our Welsh has improved, too! The experience got me thinking about the ways in which technology could enhance the teaching and learning of languages.

      Within a classroom setting, it would often be helpful to use audio and video – using a TV & video or CD/DVD player is no longer necessary, for all audio/video files can be stored within a PC/lap-top and transmitted via a projector and whiteboard. If the PC is connected to the internet, it would also be possible to find useful pictures and other resources, relevant web-sites (for example of places of interest, local cuisine), and in the case of Welsh, watch TV programmes (eg. S4/Clic – http://www.s4c.co.uk/clic/e_index.shtml – with or without subtitles!). There are many useful online dictionaries (eg. www.geiriadur.net  for Welsh) and other online reference works.

    If the PC also has interactive whiteboard software, a wide range of interactive games and activities could be devised eg. matching words to pictures, filling gaps in a piece of text, drawing lines to connect pairs of words (note that whilst an actual interactive whiteboard is helpful, it isn’t essential for most activities – learners could interact with the board using a ‘remote’ mouse and keyboard). Voting systems, also controlled by PC, are another technology that promotes activity and engagement.
     Outside of a classroom situation, learners could benefit from relevant web-sites, and could also listen to audio files, for example on mp3 players, and receive podcasts. They could also record their own conversations and e-mail to tutors – many mobile phones have built-in recorders. Access to a VLE (Virtual learning Environment) could provide other ‘any place, any time’ activities.

Has anyone got other language-learning suggestions?