S & B: In the last couple of years you have offered a wide range of videos focusing on teaching with different tools and technologies. How has language learning for business purposes changed in recent years?
Russell Stannard: People working in business are using technology all the time in their working lives, so it is pretty obvious that technology should be incorporated into any language tuition they receive. Many organisations will be working with social networks, screen cast tools, wikis, podcasts and a whole raft of technologies. The technologies can easily be exploited and used in a language learning context. However, whether teachers of business language are using technology is another question and this is really down to the training and guidance they receive. As for ideas about how technology can be used in a business context, you probably need to look no further than the publication "Business Spotlight", which I think is published in Germany. It has some great examples of the way technology can be used to support business English classes.
S & B: How open are language teachers to the adoption of new technologies? What are the obstacles?
Russell Stannard: Teachers are really busy people and I think their job is becoming harder and harder. They want quick solutions to real problems and things that are reliable. Far too much about technology is about difficult time consuming tools that solve solutions to problems that teachers never thought they had. This problem has developed because the "technologists" tend to be setting the agenda. The problem often starts at the design and development stage. A product is developed and people sit around saying "We could also have sound, we can make it so it also does this and that". A perfect example is my camera. I can hardly use it because it also works as a sound recorder and a video camera and the number of options and buttons on it mean that every time I go to use it, I have to re-learn all the functions.
S & B: What are the main trends in technology-based language learning for businesses right now?
Russell Stannard: My feeling is that "Virtual Classrooms" are really coming into their own. They have been around for ages but they are getting better and better both in terms of the quality of the interaction and the functionality and reliability that they offer. I can see this market really developing because business people are busy and the option of turning on their computer anywhere in the world and having a class through a virtual classroom has lots of merits. Of course the problem I just outlined above is also happening to virtual classrooms. Software developers are putting more and more elements into the virtual classroom like voting, polling, breakout rooms, chat, emotion icons, direct questioning, etc., and so the tools are getting better but regrettably more sophisticated too.
S & B: Could you provide some concrete examples of successful ICT-based language learning?
Russell Stannard: I think my own work with video feedback is a great example. I use screen capture software to provide feedback to students on their written work and in fact I am currently using the same approach for feedback on their oral work too. This idea has generated enormous interest. I think I have been to about 20 countries now, presenting the idea, and it has developed and evolved so much. Students love the fact that they can watch and listen to me correcting their written work. It is as if I were sitting right next to them. What is more, it is really easy to do. It takes 3 button clicks to make a video and send it to the student. Here is an example. It is not business class but you can clearly see the approach.
www.teachertrainingvideos.com/luFeedback/
S & B: What is, in your opinion, the advantage of technology-based language learning over traditional face-to-face learning? How sustainable is ICT-based language learning?
Russell Stannard: Technology is simply a tool. You start with the pedagogy. If you want to do a particular activity in the lesson and the technology will help you to do it better, then use it. If you can achieve the same goal without using technology, then I wouldn't bother using it. If you are talking about distance learning, well I am not sure I would ever say that a lesson done at distance using technology is better than face to face. In fact I would always prefer face to face. If you think about it, what we try to do when we use virtual classrooms is emulate the face to face experience. We also try to enhance it, too, by adding all the bells and whistles I talked about before, but we always lose something. What technology does is to offer the kind of opportunities for language learning which without technology would just not be possible. It opens up new markets and new contexts in which language teaching can take place (like inside Second Life, in a virtual classroom, using SKYPE, etc.), but I personally would never talk about advantages. It is more about new opportunites or affordances.
S & B: Which languages do you speak, and what is your favourite online learning resource / tool?
Russell Stannard: I think on my site I have done training videos on about a hundred odd tools for language teaching. So I honestly feel pretty qualified to answer this question. I think the tool that has most impressed me in terms of interaction and engagement is a website called "Lyrics Training", where you can learn the words of songs. The tool is so interactive and the students love it. However, the best tool I have ever come across and the tool that is by far the most popular on my site is "JING". It is a screen cast tool and I love it - and it is free, too! Some people refer to me as the "King of Jing" and people e-mail thinking it is my product. Sadly, it is not.
As for the language bit, well I am one of those rare Englishman who can speak a few languages and is learning more. My Spanish is good, my French is not bad and my Chinese goes up and down in level depending on how many times I visit the country in a year.
Juli 2011
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