Learning English With iPods

Childhood Education, Summer 2008 by Lacina, Jan

Across the world, technology is part of the social and academic lives of our students. In particular, iPods are one of the most popular forms of technology. Wikipedia, an excellent online source for information, notes that Apple has sold more than 119 million of these portable media players as of October 2007 (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod). With iPods, students can listen to, or view through an online video, a podcast. In a recent article in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Trier (2007) explains that podcasting is a shifting of time, since one can listen to material presented at any time of the day, at one's own convenience. The recent expansion of podcasting to video format is often described as "vodcasting," "vidcasting," or "vlogging" (The Economist, 2006, p. 16). This column will highlight how teachers of English language learners (ELLs) can use iPods to enhance academic language acquisition.

Despite the ongoing popularity of iPods, schools throughout the world have considered banning the technology. For example, as early as 2005, a private school in Sydney, Australia, banned iPods in classrooms, as administrators claimed that iPods lead to social isolation (www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/03/21/1111253959952. html). The New York Times recently described a school in New Jersey where a ban on iPods resulted in as many as three iPods each week being confiscated by the school (www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/ education/09ipod.html?_r=2&adx nnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=11975 69127-zrTKrPjTATKZDoYeEPTDfQ). Similarly, Fox News reported in 2007 that many schools ban iPods to prevent cheating (www.foxnews. com/story/0,2933,268903,00.html), while describing the challenges faced at a school in Idaho.

In contrast to schools that ban technology use, Duke University began a project to find ways to use iPods to enhance learning and instruction; in fact, they provided free iPods to all students in their 2004 freshman class (Belanger, 2005). Duke University found numerous benefits of iPod use, such as greater convenience for storing digital content, access to digital recordings of interviews or discussions, and greater student engagement and interest in class discussions and projects. In foreign language classes at Duke, students used iPods to respond to verbal quizzes, record audio journals, listen to poems and songs, and receive recorded oral feedback from their teacher (Belanger, 2005; Chinnery, 2006).

In elementary and middle schools, iPods can be used as a tool for language acquisition. Although iPod use with ELLs is a fairly new teaching tool, some research is now available supporting the idea that iPods can improve English vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills. For example, Craig and Paraiso (2007) conducted four action research studies that focused on ELLs' iPod use to improve writing, reading, and listening skills. These researchers studied two middle schools and two elementary schools in rural and urban locations. Their findings indicate that writing skills and vocabulary development improved in three of their studies, and an additional study found a significant increase in comprehension skills. Similarly, Thorne and Payne (2005) report that podcasts allow for a seamless integration of in-class and out-of-class activities. Students can listen to a content lecture, and continue to hear it when they listen to the podcast. For newly arriving ELLs to the United States, the repeated re-enforcing of new vocabulary on a podcast-which provides a description of the vocabulary and pictures-helps promote listening skills and vocabulary development. Likewise, GoodwinJones (2005) notes that podcasts encourage students to listen on the go. Podcasts are available at any time, so students can listen to a podcast at their convenience. Besides the many benefits and convenience of listening to podcasts, podcasts also provide the opportunity for students to publish, or record, their writing in a technological format.

How are iPods being used in the public schools to help ELLs acquire English? To answer this question, I contacted an innovative school district in the Dallas area, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. In 2005, Carrollton-Farmers Branch began distributing iPods to five of its schools, and the Dallas Morning News reported that teachers in this school district now have more than 4,000 iPods (www.dallasnews. com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-gpipods_05met. ART.State.Editionl.41d76f5.html), which includes 80 percent of all elementary campuses. A specific iPod initiative focuses on teaching students learning English as a second language. For that reason, I interviewed and observed a 6thgrade ESL newcomers teacher at Long Middle School in CarrolltonFarmers Branch.

Kari Enge uses iPods throughout the ESL curriculum. Students in her class have been in the United States for less than a year, and come from eight different countries. As I entered Mrs. Enge's classroom, I thought I must be in the wrong classroom-that I had mistakenly entered the school's computer lab. Students were independently working on laptop computers, and there were several desktop computers located at tables against aback wall. Located at the front of the classroom were a PowerPoint projector and document camera, which were in use as the teacher demonstrated how to find clip art for the development of student-created podcasts.