literature review paper

The Use of Interactive White Boards in Foreign Language Learning 1

Running Head: THE USE OF INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS

The Use of Interactive White Boards in Foreign Language Learning

Hussein Hassan

Brandman University


Abstract

This paper is intended to provide a literature review of the use of the interactive whiteboards in

foreign language learning. I tried to cover the use of interactive whiteboards within different

contexts and from different perspectives. The literature includes international studies such as

Spanish, British, and Turkish as well as American studies. The objective of this paper and the

prospective research is to shed a light on the variable factors that affect the use of interactive

whiteboards in language classrooms. The variables stressed in this paper are: students’

motivation, students’ performance, teacher’s competency, and the technology’s efficiency. The

implications of such literature review points out the factors which affect how students and

teachers perceive the use of IWB in language classroom.


Introduction

In the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, all classrooms are equipped with

interactive whiteboards (IWBs). All foreign language instructors have to utilize the Smart board

technology in teaching foreign languages. The use of IWB is widespread in all levels of

schooling in America and Europe. Language instructors utilize this technology to create class

activities that are interactive and multi-sensory. Moreover, most of the current curricula in the

Defense Language Institute (DLI) such as the Arabic basic course curricula are based on utilizing

the IWBs. However, having the technology available in foreign language learning does not

necessarily yield better results than using traditional teaching tools such as overhead projectors

and whiteboards. Moreover, there are many variables which could affect the effectiveness and

the efficiency of using interactive whiteboards in foreign language learning. The literature

review sheds light on these variables and supports the hypotheses that IWBs are just a teaching

tool and that there are other factors need to be present in order to fully utilize this technology

effectively and efficiently. I am interested in finding out if the literature supports any

effectiveness and efficiency of using the interactive whiteboards in foreign language acquisition.

My research topic is the use of interactive whiteboards in foreign language learning, the research

hypothesis is that using IWB has positive impact on students’ foreign language learning if the

technology is utilized effectively and efficiently.

The use of interactive whiteboard and student’s motivation and participation

Coyle, Yañez, & Verdú (2010) analyzed the impact of the interactive whiteboards (IWB) on the

language use of a primary school teacher and a group of English language pupils and non-native

speakers in an English language immersion classroom in Spain. The study showed that the non-


native speaker students have interacted with the IWB even more than the native speaker students.

The students showed enthusiasm to explore the IWB and they seem more focus on the task in

hand. However, the study concluded that in order to utilize the IWB effectively, teachers need to

embed more interactive opportunities to help non-native speakers students interact verbally with

their English native speakers and with the teacher and not only with the IWB.

In this British study of integrating information and communications technology (ICT) into

teaching (Gray, Pilkington, Hagger-Vaughan, & Tomkins, 2007), teachers expressed positive

remarks when asked about the increased focus of the students on the content and how they liked

using the IWB. However, some teachers thought the technology lacked more kinesthetic agility

which students need due to the limited numbers of students who can use the IWB at a time.

Another teacher in the study expressed her concern on how the interactive games were more

appealing to the boys than the girls in class. Despite this concern, students seemed to have

increased their target language use when they were interacting with the IWB. The enthusiasm to

use IWB was not inclusive to some students. Rather, it attracted the students who were usually

reluctant to participate in class activities as one teacher noted.

Lopez (2008) conducted a quantitative/ qualitative study which analyzed the findings of the first

year evaluation of a school’s district digital learning classroom project. The school district

integrated the use of interactive white board in math and English classes. The objective of the

project is to foster English language learners’ performance compared to regular students. The

appealing characteristics of the IWB seem to help with students’ behavior as well. In this study

(López, 2009) analyzes the findings of the first year evaluation of a school’s district digital

learning classroom project to foster English language learners’ performance. The school district

integrated the use of interactive white board in math and English classes. The study showed that


students’ engagement and motivation had lead to improvement in English language learners’

behavior as one teacher noted.

In a Turkish study which aimed at assessing the effects of using interactive whiteboards (IWBs)

in English as second language classrooms (Mathews-Aydinli & Elaziz, 2010), the majority of the

students showed that this technology has helped them be more motivated to learn because IWB

helped student focus and concentrate on the lesson and because it made the lesson easy to

understand. This sentiment was shared by the majority of the teachers who were surveyed in the

same study, 72% of the teachers agreed that the use of IWB in their classes made their students

more motivated.

In a research article by Tozcu, A. (2008), 75 DLI foreign language instructors participated in a

study which aimed at analyzing the use of IWBs in foreign language classes. This study focuses

on the use of interactive whiteboard in teaching non-roman scripts. All foreign language teachers

agreed on the importance of the use of IWB in engaging students in the learning process. This

engagement led to more motivation and consequently to more students’ participation in class,

they added. (Tozcu, 2008).

The use of interactive whiteboard and student’s achievement

The inherent visual effects of the IWB make it easier for the students to visualize concepts

otherwise hard to contextualize. On the other hand, this technology promotes the use of target

language and also it shows the students their errors instantly which helped the students learn

from their mistakes. (Coyle, et al, 2010) In this study, the students learned more by interacting

with the IWB and with each other.


In contrasting student’s achievements in mathematics and reading, (López, 2009) found that

English Language learners (ELL) have increased their performances in both subjects due to the

use of IWB in the classroom. However, in his notes (López, 2009) cautions that such positive

outcomes of the digital learning classroom for the English language learners is not a “silver

bullet” that could help the ELL students improve their performance.

The results of using IWBs may not be visible in the short term. It might take more time for the

students as well as the teachers to fully feel comfortable in using it effectively in a way that

yields positive impact on students’ learning. Mathews-Aydinli & Elaziz, (2010) stressed that

despite the overall positive feelings the students felt about using the IWB in the classroom, only

59% reported that there is a difference between using the IWB and the regular whiteboard. The

study showed that the more the students use the IWB, the more they recognize its unique

characteristics. In another study, (Tozcu, 2008) showed that all foreign language instructors who

participated in the study have reported improved retention and better performance by the

students in recognizing the different forms of the non-roman scripts. The study reported that the

DLI students spent two weeks to master the written systems of these languages which is

considered a relatively short time given the complexity of the written systems. The versatility of

the visual effects of the IWB and the interactive nature of the touch-screen helped students learn

the scripts as well as help them concentrate on the task in hand with less distraction.

Efficiency of the interactive whiteboard

Gray, et al, (2007) noted that despite the positive feelings of confidence the teachers in this case

study have reported, the researchers showed concern of the extra hours three out of four teachers

had to invest in preparing digital materials for their classes. The other issue was the constant


changing in technology makes it harder for teachers to use learning materials for long time; they

might have to constantly update their materials to keep up with the technology.

In a Turkish study (Mathews-Aydinli & Elaziz, 2010), all teachers showed positive attitude

toward using the IWB in their English classes. The reasons for these positive attitudes come from

the efficiency the IWB provides in reviewing previous lessons, and explaining as well as the

multi-sensory materials which could be used in the class. The characteristic of the IWB which

sets it aside from regular projector or computer is the ability to save the class input on the

whiteboard for future classes as well as the availability of ready-to-use lesson plans and lesson

activities for language classes. Such characteristics lead 63% of the Turkish teachers to believe

that the IWB made them more efficient teachers. However, the same concern of time allocated to

prepare IWB lessons seems to be a concern for 32% of the teachers who reported that they had to

prepare more to use the IWB in their teaching. Such characteristics were confirmed in limiting

teacher preparation for classes (Tozcu, 2008). All teachers in this study confirmed that the use of

IWB in teaching the non-Latin scripts helped them in better manage the class time, use the same

teaching materials for future classes which lead to less preparation time. However, the teachers

stressed the disadvantage of this technology, as noted in the Turkish study (Mathews-Aydinli &

Elaziz, 2010) which allows only one student at time to utilize it.

Teacher’s competency in using the interactive whiteboard

Any tool is as good as the one who uses it. Such generalization is true for the use of the IWB in

classroom teaching and learning. In their conclusion of their research (Coyle, et.al, 2010)

stressed the importance of teacher’s competency in using the IWB effectively in order to utilize

its potential. The technological competency is just one part of effective and efficient use of the


IWB in language learning, the other important component is the interactive skills teachers ought

to have in order to fully engage the students in meaningful language learning. Therefore, (Coyle,

et.al 2010) stressed the importance of training the faculty not only on how to use the IWB but

also on how to be effective language teachers by using communicative and constructivist

approach in teaching.

The results of the study show that a teacher’s lack of competency in the software used in the

class led one of the teachers to control most of the interaction with IWB. The researchers

concluded that the use of the IWB had potential to improve communication skills for non-native

pupils in English class. However, this potential depends on how teacher used the interactive

whiteboard to enhance interaction. It also depends on the teacher competency in both the

technology and language acquisition.

However, in a qualitative study conducted by Gray, et al, (2007), the researchers reported that

the teachers did not consider the training as an essential component in their effective use of the

IWB. Instead, the teachers learned best by experimenting, exploring the software, and sharing

with each other. The researcher suggested that it is better to respect the individual needs of each

teacher regarding their training needs. However, some teachers think that technical competency

in using the IWB is an important factor in successful learning. In the Turkish study, 63% of the

teachers reported that such training is necessary for them to feel competent in using the IWB

(Mathews-Aydinli & Elaziz, 2010)

The research literature showed positive feedback from both the students and the teachers. The

studies also stressed on the importance of embedding the use of technology in general and the

IWB in particular in meaningful pedagogical frameworks such as to use the IWB in foreign


language classrooms in interpersonal, intrapersonal, and creative manner. The literature however

seems lacking enough resources on the use of IWB in foreign language learning therefore I

included research that focused on second language acquisitions as well as English language

learning for non-English speakers. In order to utilize the interactive whiteboard in foreign

language learning, teachers have to utilize it the technology within a bigger pedagogical

methodology. On the other hand, student’s voices need to be heard as well as the teachers. Most

of the studies focused on the teachers’ attitudes and thoughts about the technology but fewer

considered the students’ voices and whether their performances were improved. To listen to

students’ concerns and thoughts, teachers need to communicate effectively with their students

when applying new technologies or teaching methods. In an interpretive qualitative research,

Schmid, (2006) investigates the effects of using interactive whiteboards in foreign language

learning from the perspective of the critical theory of technology. To overcome the challenges

which emerge from using new technology in the language classroom, Schmid suggested that

both the teacher and the students need to engage in effective communication in order to tackle

such challenges and transform the learning process. Further studies need to focus on the use of

interactive whiteboard in foreign language learning with quantitative and qualitative methods to

measure students’ performances and focus on how the technology is being utilized along within

the curriculum.


References

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