Bilingual Students and Technology

Katie Smart
Western Oregon University

Introduction
There are over one million English Language Learners (ELLs) served in ELL
programs in our nations largest school districts (Leacox & Jackson, 2012). Bilingual
students are expected to achieve the same level of academic success as those who are
learning in their home language. Students who come from migrant families that are
constantly moving, of low socio-economic status, and have low levels of parental
education have to battle multiple cultural expectations and language barriers. The
purpose of this essay is to discuss four different areas in which technology impacts
English Language Learners. Among ELLs and other minorities there is a digital and
global divide, gaps that need to be bridged, and a crucial need for literacy development.
The role of bilingual education teachers is vital and technology assists those teachers in
many different ways. This essay will explore how technology has the ability to make a
difference in all areas and implore how important it is in our education system.

Bridging Gaps
The rigor that is expected of our students is continuing to rise. English language
learners (ELLs) are expected to jump into the challenging curriculum from day one of
their arrival. While the core curriculum is hard for all students, ELLs have an added level
of difficulty with learning a new language. Students who are bilingual are exposed to
two different cultures, sometimes multiple languages, and are expected to navigate all of
it to produce the expected work to show proficiency. There are inherently gaps between
each culture and language that need to be bridged. Technology is a great tool and
resource to do just that.

Students from a multilingual home have to overcome gaps between both

languages. Technology-enhanced instruction can provide connections between both
languages. In a study done by Leacox and Jackson (2012), it was found that providing
multiple exposures to technology-enhanced English vocabulary instruction with Spanish
bridging compared to English-only adult readings increased young ELLs vocabulary and
understanding. Using the Spanish bridging vocabulary technique, students are able to see
or hear a vocabulary word in their home language and connect that concept to the English
vocabulary word used in the eBook. In using that type of vocabulary instruction, teachers
are allowing connections to be made between both languages.
Students who recognize a word in their home language are able to access prior
knowledge of the concept thus allowing them to start building on the concept in both
languages and reach that deeper level of understanding. Teachers can easily use the
technique of Spanish bridging within their instruction verbally. However, if a teacher
were to use technology to integrate the technique, multiple resources already created
could be found and used over and over again, lessening the pressure of having to plan,
prep, and discover. Amongst the younger generation, even ELLs, there is an added level
of excitement when an eBook is read aloud by an adult or through an application.
Teachers who build upon that excitement can find success in grabbing and keeping
students attention while also taking pressure off of the learning situation for both teacher
and student.
Technology provides innovative ways to help ELLs access all four language
skills: writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Applications like digital storytelling can
jumpstart understanding before the lesson is even taught. When a student listens or

watches a video or eBook that is pre-teaching academic concepts, the student is starting
to build understanding. Digital storytelling that focuses on connections between the
home culture and the academic culture starts to make a bridge between what the student
previously knows to what the student will need to know. ELLs have the tendency to
become overwhelmed when overloaded with new vocabulary and concepts. Teachers who
use this beneficial application can create videos or photographs that prepare learners
visually and auditorily so they are not overwhelmed with new vocabulary and concepts
when the main lesson is taught. Schemas are important to access amongst ELLs.
Finding ways to activate prior knowledge will create a sense of understanding and
connection with the lesson. ELLs need to hear new vocabulary words at least three times
and in different contexts as well as see visuals to help them process the massive number
of images that are in our lives (Rance-Roney, 2010, pg. 389). Providing a digital
jumpstart encourages visual literacy that can bridge the gap between both languages and
the needed academic skills. Through those jumpstarts, students are able to hear the new
language, read the new language, speak the new language and start the process of writing
the new language.

Technology and Literacy

Technology integration in mainstream classrooms can happen with the many
different avenues being created. New technologies can support students increasingly
multicultural and multilingual lives (Daniel, Shin, Harrison & Aoki, 2014, p. 35), giving
bilingual students a way to connect and understand. Technology provides multiple ways
to process a second language. Students can speak, hear, read, and write their second

language with technology scaffolding and less pressure. Applications such as Prezi and
Voki allow scaffolded language support to ELLs who prefer nonverbal activities (Daniel,
et al., 2014, p. 38). Using Voki, students who get anxiety when presenting can create text
and a character that reads their presentation for them. Often, when a student uses the
technology provided in the learning environment, teachers can see into the students life
and prior knowledge as well as other needs the student might have. If a student tends to
use applications that allow characters to speak for the student, a teacher can watch and
see if the student is struggling in conversational speaking and provide extra support based
on their findings. Students who respond well to peer feedback would benefit from
assignments that incorporate applications like Google Docs where peer feedback is
encouraged and easily tracked.
In a study done by Liu, Navarrete, and Wivagg (2014), it was found that using
iPod Touches in the mainstream classroom provides a significant amount of language and
content learning support. Applications that can be uploaded onto an iPod encourage
literacy in many different ways. Images accessed through applications can support
language acquisition through prior knowledge and connections. Students can use
translation dictionaries that provide audio to not only see the meaning of the word but
hear it spoken in the new language. In allowing students to access the different resources
on an iPod, more development and customized learning is being achieved (Liu,
Navarrete, & Wivagg, 2014). Technology encourages students to learn what they want to
learn and learning becomes more student-centered. Literacy applications like ComicLife
and StoryKit allows students to create their own story and include pictures to go along
with the vocabulary. Through the process of exploring, writing, creating, and directing,

ELL students are able to develop valuable literacy skills that encourage language
development.

Digital and Global Divide

It is common knowledge that those living in poverty may not have as much as
access to technology as individuals living in a well established area. That is why it is
understandable that schools are important stakeholders in closing that digital gap
(Sanchez & Salazar, 2011, p. 97). A study done by Sanchez and Salazar (2011) produced
statistics that schools with the majority of the population being students of color have
64% of their classrooms with access to Internet and teachers are less likely to receive
training or support with that technology. Schools with white being the majority of the
population have significant increase access to the Internet with 85% of their classrooms
having technology and teachers receiving more training. With the immigrant population
continuing to grow exponentially it is vital that the embedded institutional racism in
our schools is battled and altered to provide opportunity for all those who walk through
the school doors (Sanchez & Salazar, 2011, p. 96). Districts with minority populations
need to make it a budget priority to provide technology and training for those schools.
School is the first place most immigrant students and their families will get exposure to
technology.
Immigrant families are constantly on the move, whether its people, information
from their home country, money being sent back and forth, or traveling to find work, they
are constantly having to transition (Sanchez & Salazar, 2011).

In order to stay

connected with those important to the family, technology becomes a vital resource.

Families with access to technology and the Internet are able to create connections with
fellow immigrants and maintain contact with relatives back in their home country.
However, there is a definite global divide in our world. Families that come from a loweconomic country are less likely to have the resources to stay in contact with those back
home. A study showed that 8.5% of El Salvadorians have access technology compared to
73% of US citizens (Sanchez & Salazar, 2011, p. 94). Finding ways to reduce the global
divide will allow families to stay connected and flourish in their new home.
Communities that have a high population of immigrants from low socioeconomic areas
can provide opportunities for Internet access and technology training in order to
encourage communication and connections.
Technology is an important thing for immigrant families to have culturally. The
digital divide puts up roadblocks for immigrants and what they are used to culturally.
The flea market, neighbors, and ma-and-pa stores no longer have the best deals like they
did back in their home country. Those deals are now on the Internet. It is crucial that
schools and communities provide opportunity for immigrant families to learn and grow
technologically. Much of the responsibility of adjusting in a new country now falls upon
the younger generation. Students of immigrant families get exposure to technology and
the Internet, provided their school has the resources, so they instantly become the
technology brokers of the family (Sanchez & Salazar, 2011, p. 110). The younger
generation has the responsibility of navigating the Internet and explaining to their family
the importance and expectation of having access to it It is the school systems
responsibility to provide programs that tailor to the needs of these students. Programs
that focus on purchasing and setting up computers as well as the basic skills needed for

technology use would be beneficial for new immigrant students and their families. Much
of our culture in the US greatly relies on technology so it is important to provide
exposure to those who are not originally from that culture in order for bilingual students
and their families to be successful.

Role of the Teacher

Bilingual students come from a different type of cultural background. Those
backgrounds vary between well-educated families to families who have very little
educational background. School may not only be a first for some families but it is now a
place where they are surrounded by different cultural expectations, new languages, and
new technologies. Teachers have the responsibility of addressing all of those needs. It is
necessary that lessons be designed with multicultural experiences (Simonsson, 2004, p.
257). Teachers of bilingual students can acknowledge those many differences with the
use of technology. Educational games are seen as ways to integrate cultural information,
key concepts, and develop positive attitudes and values towards different cultures
(Simonsson, 2004, p. 263). With technology, multicultural experiences are not limited to
the classroom and teachers can connect to the culture of the family.
Teachers of bilingual students are often found in areas with high poverty and a
dominant minority population. Due to funding and training resources, teachers located in
those areas are less likely to use technology in their classroom. Constant reflection on
the subject matter and students inherently flows from having to prepare lessons that
incorporate technology (Rance-Rooney, 2010). Teachers that work closely with ELL
students can use technology for their advantage but training and pre-service programs are

now required. Districts in high poverty areas do not often have the budget for training
and pre-service programs that allow teachers to become confident in technology use. In
order to encourage that type of teaching, districts need to encourage budget spending that
promotes technology. Educators of bilingual students and students who are in high
poverty populations need to investigate detailed ways to provide exposure to technology
on a daily basis (Salazar & Sanchez, pg. 111). Districts who make technology a priority
in the classroom not only need to provide the machinery but the training as well.
Simonsson (2004) points out that there are four features of professional
development for teachers that are necessary when districts are using technology .
Teachers need to gain knowledge and skills regarding technology, learn how to teach a
content area using technology, find ways that allow continuous maintenance of
knowledge and skills, and provide for long-term professional development programs (p.
258). Districts need to provide continuous professional development opportunities that
allow teachers to grow in those areas. If a teacher is not confident in integrating
technology into their lessons, bilingual students are missing out on multicultural
experiences and connections. Support from the school is absolutely necessary if
technology is seen as a valued resource in bilingual education.

Conclusion
English Language Learners will struggle through many different obstacles and
expectations but research shows that technology can lessen the pressure and aid in
learning. This essay discussed the many different challenges ELL students face in our
world but provided evidence that technology can help. Teachers of ELL students and

high poverty populations benefit professionally and academically when integrating

technology into lessons. If teachers are to confidently provide technology exposure and
culturally rich experiences, districts need to make technology a priority within their
schools and teacher training. If schools and communities provide support with
technology, the digital and global divide can be reduced amongst immigrant families and
ELLs. Families can stay connected with their home country but feel they have the
resources to be successful in their new home. Technology is a beneficial resource in
encouraging learning and literacy development. Students can find excitement and
meaningful connections in learning a second language. Gaps can be bridged with
numerous applications, experiences, and digital jumpstarts. Technology has many
different benefits in an English Language Learners education and research shows it is
crucial for their success.

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