Course Design in the Digital Age: Learning Through Interaction With News-Based Materials

Abstract

The use of digital media as a mode of delivering course materials has become increasingly common in the field of language education. The aim of language educators has therefore been to discover suitable ways of using digital media to enable learners to engage with materials effectively and enhance their learning experience. This paper describes a collaborative syllabus between teachers at two Japanese universities which shares the same mode of delivery: a website of news-based materials. Students are asked to read an authentic and current news story each week and, after a classroom session, write their reactions to the story by adding their comments on the website. By using an online mode of delivery, students are motivated to build their confidence in expressing themselves in English away from the classroom and begin to engage fully with the course materials as their opinions become topics in the developing online discussions. Recent years have seen a significant rise in the proliferation of digital media in our lives. This is also true of the classroom, where teachers are now able to use a vast array of material from the Internet as an alternative to more traditional teaching tools such as board work and handouts. However, as Chun (2008) pointed out, the use of such technology should not be considered a methodology in itself. In fact, Blake (2008) envisaged that language teaching will change not because of technology but as a result of teachers “rethinking what they do” when incorporating technology into their syllabi and lessons (p. 8). There has therefore been a great deal of experimentation and research by teachers into using digital media and materials as an aid to language learning (Arena & Jefferson, 2008; Carney, 2007; Johnson, 2004, Kung & Chuo, 2002). Significant to this is what Alm (2006) has identified as the recent shift from using the Internet as a repository of reference materials to using it for blogging and social networking, modes of communication that many language learners use in their daily lives. This has exciting implications for the process of language learning, now seen by most as a more personal, proactive, conscious, and cognitive endeavor (Brown, 2006). As a result, Erbaggio, Gopalakrishnan, Hobbs, and Liu (2010) consider digital technology to be an effective way of connecting with the current population of students by communicating with them in “their own language.” This, in turn, can have an impact on their motivation and engagement. With this in Language Education in Asia, 2013, 4(2), 183-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/13/V4/I2/A06/Marchand_Rowlett