MEXTESOL Journal: Vol. 34 No. 2, 2010

From the editor:

Welcome to the Special Issue of the MEXTESOL Journal: The Internet and Technology in EFL/ESL. Technology means many things these days. Some people might think of complex computer programs or high definition television and DVDs. In reality, technology includes computers and all their programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, games, etc.) and the internet and all the possible sites. Many sites offer useful tools for English teachers and administrators. But we can’t just stop with the internet. Modern technology also includes various types of portable devices, such as cellphones, smart phones i-pads, i-pods, CD/DVD players, netbooks…all of which have led to the study of the use of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in classrooms and as independent learning devices. Classroom versions of technology have developed from the language lab to the use of Interactive White Boards and other similar devices that inhabit modern classrooms. Technology is used with small children and teacher trainees, in elementary schools and universities, and to present, teach, organize, explain, and assess.
This issue presents many different kinds of technology. There’s something here for everyone.
The first article, Technology and Teacher Training: Assessing Incidental Learning on In-service Courses by Gerrard Mugford reports the results of research into the use of technology on in-service teachers in an MA course in TEFL to whether on-line technologies provide opportunities for incidental learning (that which was not the primary focus of the course.)
Marisol Guzmán Cova presents us with an article about the use of Virtual Portfolios in Blended Learning: Assessment and Collaboration. After an examination into portfolios and their use in assessment, she reports on the utilization of virtual (non-paper) portfolios with Mexican university students and how this lets them develop many abilities, including the cognitive, affective and collaborative.
Corpus linguistics had become more accessible since the advent of online corpora. María del Carmen Barrera Cobos gives us an article on The use of Corpus Linguistics to Teach Cognates to Spanish-speaking English Language Learners. She presents a technique to allow advanced students to act as language researchers as they use a corpus to analyze how language works and thereby guiding them to an understanding of some common misconceptions about English.
The next article may at first seem unusual in a journal dedicated to the classroom teacher in Mexico. Ethnic Media Technologies Enhance Chinese English as Second Language Learners’ Intercultural Identities, by Yulin Feng and Valentin Ekiaka Nzai. As the authors say, this article “will evoke professional awareness, spark interest, stimulate thoughts and discussions, and disseminate knowledge needed to effectively teach K-12, college and adult ESL learners in a predominantly subtractive bilingual setting such as Mexico.” Also, many of our graduates here in Mexico will find themselves in the position of the Chinese immigrants mentioned in the article when their future leads them to far parts of the globe.
From Iran we have an interesting article (The Effect of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on Grammatical Accuracy of EFL students) on the use of portable devices in the classroom. Sana Baleghizadeh and Elnaz Oladrostam examine the use of mobile phones to help EFL students improve their knowledge of grammar through out-of-class assignments in which they analyzed their spoken mistakes.
In Learner Responses to Oral Homework in Number and Words Elba Méndez García presents research into how young adult learners responded to doing oral homework using basic technology.
The first of a series of practical articles, Wii Want Interaction—Wii Mote Board: Una alternativa Económica para un Pizarrón Interactivo y sus Aplicaciones en la Enseñanza del Inglés, Tessfonte López Reynoso and José Luis Ramirez-Romero demonstrate an inexpensive alternative to the interactive whiteboard and discuss how it can be used in class.
Ruth Ban and Robert Summers (Using Web 2.0 Tools for English as a Foreign Language Teacher Reflective Practice) next present us with a narrative describing how an in-service teacher discovered Web 2.0 tools that, through collaboration, affected her and led her to a new way to be self-reflective.
Many schools and universities use Moodle to organize classes. In this article (Getting them to Read Outside of Class: Let Moodle be the Enforcer!) Thomas N. Robb shows us how students can be held responsible for their extensive reading outside of class using Moodle.
Wikis are becoming more and more accepted in classrooms. Valeria Guerra and William Machado in WIKIS + TECH = WIN-WIN Combination share ways wikis can be used in a project based in the adaptation of traditional classroom activities.
Finally, Fabiana Hernández in The Skype Advantage: An Anecdote of a Teacher’s Journey to Discover a Tool the Allows Students to Read Their Learning Objectives Despite Their Busy Schedules discusses the use of Skype to improve teacher-student communication outside of class.