Two opposing views on using technology in adult ESFL classes

About five years ago, an adult ESFL teacher told me that the director of her program did not like my website, pumarosa. He believed that the  students preferred to stay home and study with pumarosa rather than attend classes at the school. I asked her why the director did not want to incorporate various websites in the classes.She did not know.

Then, about a year ago, I received the following email from the director of an adult school in California:

"I used Pumarosa as homework assignment material with my students. Students received a 2 hour per week in-person session and 2 hours of homework assignment per week. Our Literacy Program uses CASAS to measure students' performance. 

"It would normally take 1 year for students to improve 1 grade level. In my class students would jump 1 grade level every 3 months."

 I think that sooner or later every adult ESFL class will include the use of  technology, especially smart phones. Perhaps the majority already do! Probably the majority of students study via their phones.

Comments

Hello Paul, I agree that there are enormous benefits to using technology for learning English. In fact, as you suggest, the majority of programs are using technology. Most programs needed to embrace technology in the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic. As a result, teachers and learners have learned about the many ways tech tools can boost langauge development. 

Some programs are now experimenting with offering both in-person and remote instruction at the same time. This hybrid model is called HyFlex. Students can choose whichever option works best for them on any given day. This kind of flexibility has increased attendance as well as learning gains. Most teachers also give homework that could be excerises on a website such as Reading Skills for Today's Adults, Quizlet or Pumarosa.

One teacher who has written about her experience with HyFlex is Vi Hawes, an ESL Teacher at Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ. You can read Vi's article here, "Building on a Pilot: HyFlex ESOL at Pima Community College."

I'd love to hear about other teachers' experiences with using technology as well as their thoughts about the HyFlex approach.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP