Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning by Robert J. Blake (review)

Technology integration in teaching and learning is an area of concern, interest, and discovery for many educators and administrators at all levels for multiple reasons, from enrollment management to enhanced learner engagement. The field of language learning is no exception, and guidance for those willing to explore various technologies is desirable. In this second edition of Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning, in eight reader-friendly chapters—each conclude with discussion questions and activities and a glossary sufficient for both the novice and more advanced reader—Robert Blake adeptly presents the case for anchoring implementation of various technologies on a strong foundation of principles of language acquisition.

In chapter 1, “Second Language Acquisition, Language Teaching, and Technology,” Blake begins an exploration and delineation of how technology meshes with tenets of second language acquisition and within language learning contexts. The groundwork is set to emphasize that it is the learning—not the technology—that should drive the design for curriculum and instruction. Myth busting of four myths about technology and second language acquisition also sets the tone for inquiry and thoughtful implementation of technology with a purpose. The author addresses perhaps the most daunting challenge for those interested in technology integration in the absence of a strong language lab staff or university instructional technology services, the need for continuing education with the ever-changing landscape of new technologies.

Blake seems ever mindful of the need to encourage appropriate technology use, as the title of chapter 2 suggests, “Web Pages in Service of L2 Learning.” Again, technology is in service of learning. A brief history, along with basic functioning, of the Internet is presented with preliminary thoughts on the pitfalls of simply superimposing technology on traditional grammar-driven pedagogy. The author leads to a more collaborative, student-centered approach with task-based instruction (TBI), but the generic formula he presents as a suggested procedure to start building a web-supported learning environment may itself be daunting to some neophytes to either the technology or TBI.

A natural progression follows as Blake moves to chapter 3, “CALL and Its Evaluation: Programs and Apps.” The author starts with a history of the original computer-assisted language instruction (CALI) and moves to computer-assisted language learning (CALL), which as a “paradigm assumes that students bring certain schema to the learning process” (52). A table summarizing the stages of structural CALL in the 1970s and 1980s, communicative CALL in the 1980s and 1990s, and the integrative CALL of the twenty-first century includes technology type, teaching paradigm, view of language, principal use of computers, and principal objective, in order to graphically show the evolution of CALL. Another key point is the desirability to be able to evaluate CALL; Blake shares the complexity of the task since such “may examine design, procedures, approaches or a combination of all of these factors” (71).

Communication is a central component of language learning and earns singular focus in chapter 4, “Computer-Mediated Communication.” Blake begins with the ubiquitous nod to interactionist practices fundamental to SLA theories and makes an excellent presentation and synthesis of research, weaving together theory and practice, minus a somewhat lengthy inclusion of a case study of bimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Even as he advocates for use of certain technologies, the author is honest about limitations and difficulties that both instructors and students may encounter when using such.

In chapter 5, “Theory in Practice: Putting It All Together,” Blake recaps the

pedagogical threads that should guide the integration of technology into the FL curriculum: multiple technological entry points . . . ; theory-driven applications of new technologies, not just for the sake of the use of any specific digital tool; student-centered classrooms; interactivity, agency, and students as co-producers of technologically enhanced materials; and pursuit of a third place in the quest for bilingualism and the development of intercultural communicative competence.

(109)

The author once more builds...