Croissants, Web 2, Language Learning

I was a terrible foreign language learner at school: a) because I talked too much instead of listening and; b) because lessons seemed somehow "flat", lacking in colour, sounds and dimension. With 5 years of French behind, I left with little more than the ability to order a croissant and an embarrassing memory of running around Paris like a headless chicken in high heels shouting "ou et le bus" - hmmm, I was late, stressed and didn't know the word for bus station. So, to say the least, my language learning memories are not such fond memories.

Recently, I watched an incredible clip illustrating how different today’s digital generation of learners are from yesterday’s and how teaching needs to compensate for this. What if I had been born during this "google generation" a "Web 2 native" a "Digital Learner"? Would I have been any better at speaking French? How about you? Do you think the methods you experience in today’s classrooms with VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments) like Optima, video clips, blogs/learning diaries etc are any more effective than the methods of yesterday?

I do .... and I say this with as much conviction and enthusiasm as a blushing lovestruck bride on her wedding day! Today's technology permeates life, sound, and vibrancy that was amiss in the classroom of my past French lesson days. It allows our learners to create and build eportfolios of living sounds, images and reflections that weave a story of their language experiences as they navigate the map of life-long learning.

So, from time-to-time I want to share in our kielikoulutuskeskus blog links for using technology to enhance language learning experiences. The link I'd like to share today is for creating "word clouds" and is great for learning vocabulary and brainstorming words around a topic: www.wordle.net/ It’s a fun, quick and useful way for organizing, selecting and creating “art” from the words and phrases. Try it for yourself, share and see. I created this “French phrases” cloud in 10 minutes by just copying and pasting phrases I found via google:

This afternoon you'll catch me pacing the corridors, clutching a croissant and mumbling gutteral sounds in French!

Kelly Raita