Exploring Teachers’ Use of
Technology in Classrooms of
Bilingual Students1

Mayra C. Daniel and John E. Cowan2*
Northern Illinois University

Abstract

This article presents results of an investigation that documents teachers’
perceptions of the contribution of technology use in classrooms of bilingual
learners. Study questions asked how teachers perceive teacher-made digital
movies impact learning, and what situational factors delimit technology
infusion. Data gathered in focus groups and surveys indicate teachers perceive
appropriate technology gives bilingual students greater access to academic
language. Results strongly suggest that school administrators control access to
technology.

Keywords: Technology, multi-modal instruction, bilingual learners,
academic language

Resumen

Es articulo presenta los resultados de una investigación sobre las percepciones
que tienen los docentes frente a la contribución de la tecnología en el aprendizaje
de estudiantes bilingües. Las preguntas de investigación pretenden conocer la
apreciación de los docentes sobre el uso de material digital diseñado por ellos
mismos, el impacto que estos generan en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes y los
factores situacionales que limitan el uso de la tecnología. Los datos obtenidos a
través de los grupos focales y las encuestas aplicadas a los participantes revelan
que los docentes perciben que el uso adecuado de la tecnología permite a los
estudiantes bilingües ampliar el acceso al lenguaje académico. Los resultados
sugieren que los directores de las escuelas controlan el uso de la tecnología.

Palabras Claves: tecnología, enseñanza multimodal, estudiantes
bilingües, lenguaje académico.

1 Received: July 28th, 2012 / Accepted: August 15th, 2012
2 Email: mcdaniel@niu.edu, jcowan@niu.edu

Gist Education and LEarninG rEsEarch JournaL. issn 1692-5777.
no. 6, novEmbEr 2012. pp. 97-110

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Resumo

Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa sobre as percepções que têm
os docentes frente à contribuição da tecnologia na aprendizagem de estudantes
bilíngues. As perguntas de pesquisa pretendem conhecer a apreciação dos
docentes sobre o uso de material digital desenhado por eles mesmos, o impacto
que estes geram na aprendizagem dos estudantes e os fatores situacionais que
limitam o uso da tecnologia. Os dados obtidos através dos grupos focais e
as pesquisas de opinião aplicadas aos participantes revelam que os docentes
percebem que o uso adequado da tecnologia permite aos estudantes bilíngues
ampliar o acesso à linguagem acadêmica. Os resultados sugerem que os
diretores das escolas controlam o uso da tecnologia.

Palavras Chaves: tecnologia, ensino multimodal, estudantes bilíngues,
linguagem acadâmica.

Exploring Teachers’ Use of Technology in Classrooms of Bilingual
Students

In this investigation we collaborated with a group of educators enrolled in a program to satisfy requirements from the State of Illinois in the United States (US) to teach bilingual students. We
asked the teachers to integrate digital media technology, Windows
Moviemaker, into a lesson designed to promote academic English
language acquisition and also focused on formative assessment. Two
professors, one with a background in preparing teachers to work
with bilingual students, and one who prepares teachers to integrate
technology in instruction, guided the educators as they developed their
lessons. Besides supporting the educators in the design of their lessons,
we asked the teachers to consider their use of technology as participation
in a system of activity that includes rules, tools, and people (Engeström,
1987). We involved the teachers in the tasks of creating the technology
as well as examining how their school system made it possible or
difficult to add a technology component to instruction. Study results
demonstrate that it can be an arduous task for teachers to get around
protocols in their schools that control access to technology even when
they want to do so and believe it benefits their students.

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Bilingual Learners in Schools

Student populations are changing in their linguistic diversity and
teachers are responding by looking for ways to make disciplinary specific
language comprehensible to all learners. In the US approximately
a quarter of all children are born to immigrant families (Suárez-
Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2009). These learners speak about 460
different languages (Kindler, 2002), and the overwhelming majority,
some 79.5%, speak Spanish as their primary language (Goldenberg &
Coleman, 2010). The teachers who were part of this study were in
graduate school as a reaction to their need to learn new strategies to work
with bilingual learners. Many were monolingual mainstream teachers
teaching students from different language backgrounds at various
levels of English language proficiency. Considering the changing
demographics, advocacy and quick action are needed to develop and
implement curricula to effectively teach academic language and help
teachers to design and implement pedagogies that incorporate current
technology. Please note that in this article we will refer to bilingual
learners as English language learners (ELs).

Academic Language

Researchers support multi-modal instruction for ELs because it
provides them scaffolds to understanding with pictures, words, music,
and text that adds context to the learning (Chamot, 2009; Echevarria,
Vogt, & Short, 2008). Appropriate technology can help a teacher
develop this student centered pedagogical approach. Technology can
facilitate second language acquisition because it can be used to enhance
intercultural communication (Erben, Ban, Jin, & Summers, 2007).
Task-based and content language instruction that involves learners
as active participants emphasizing process over product came to the
fore in the 1990’s (Nunan, 1999; Snow and Brinton, 1988). We cannot
overlook what research suggests benefits second language learners.
With the right technology, ELs can collaborate with classmates to
complete interactive tasks that make good sense to them and result in
language learning.

We know that it is not easy for ELs to learn the majority language
as well as master the content they are taught (August & Shanahan,
2006; Short & Fitzsimmons, 2007). We also know that good teachers
address the culturally influenced learning styles of their students (Pang,
2005; Chow & Cummins, 2003). They investigate the ELs’ funds of
knowledge in order to assure the learner can relate to what is taught
(González, Moll, & Amanti, 2006). Multi-modal instruction can be a

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medium to offer content-rich contexts that both address and add to ELs’
funds of knowledge while focusing on listening, speaking, reading,
writing, and discussion (Cummins, Brown, & Sayers, 2007; Kelley,
Lesaux, Kieffer, & Faller, 2010). It is important to find the right balance
to teach disciplinary content and develop cross-disciplinary skills and
strategies (Chamot, 2009).

In addition, Cummins’ early development of the basic
interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic
language proficiency (CALP) dichotomy (Cummins & Swain,
1986), as well as his later work (Cummins, Brown, & Sayers, 2007),
suggest ELs need something that technology can help deliver; explicit
instruction. Teachers can use many different technologies to scaffold
instruction and to engage students in small group collaborative tasks
that require listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Because of this
multimodal capacity, technology has the potential to allow students
to work at their own level and within their areas of strength. When
instruction is planned so that students work at their zone of proximal
development they can acquire academic language while experiencing
low stress levels (Vygotzky, 1986). Movies offer print, music, and
visually appealing pictures that deliver an inviting less stressful
classroom environment (Krashen, 1981; Erben, Ban, Jin, & Summers,
2007; Lesaux, Kieffer, Faller, & Kelley, 2010). We propose that the
sensory contexts of movies facilitate the creation of a third space for
productive classroom inter and intra-personal dialogue (Bhabha, 1994).
In these spaces, students who are literate, as well as those on the path
to biliteracy or multiliteracy can identify the similarities between their
linguistic and cultural capital, the teachers’, and their monolingual
classmates’ (Daniel, Taylor, Schwarzer, Garcia, Despagne, Peigne, &
Cohen, 2011). Garcia’s (2009) definition of translanguaging as acts that
give bilinguals access to different linguistic features, supports the use
of technology. Her work aligns with what Gutiérrez, Baquedano-López,
Alvarez & Chiu (1999) label as hybrid language practices. It seems
clear that instruction delivered through appropriate technology has to
be beneficial for ELs.

Technology as an Instructional Tool

Hunter (1971) addressed the need to capture the student’s attention
when beginning a lesson. Technology can be this tool that adds context
to the learning. It also supports thinking because it asks a learner to
use short and long-term memory. Short-term memory involves listening
and seeing (Norman, 1982) while long-term memory asks the learner

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to retrieve and use acquired knowledge without conscious monitoring.
When ELs interact with new language numerous times, ideas can pass
from short to long-term memory. Technology affords ELs the scaffolds
to develop control over a text through this processing of auditory and
visual input (Norman, 1993). Norman argued that learning is a balance
between acquiring, retaining and retrieving information (1982; 1993).
We know that acquiring fluency in a new language is a taxing process
that requires both a conscious and unconscious focus on language
(Krashen, 1981; 1982). Until an EL can unconsciously retrieve and
use a second language, he/she needs explicit instruction. Technology
can help a learner travel down this path of consciously focusing on
language to using it. Use of technology in instruction can help the
EL reach the state of flow (Czikszentmihalyi, 1990; 1998) when he/
she is immersed in an activity to the degree that everything else fades
into the background and self-consciousness disappears. It appears that
technology infused instruction expedites this process.

Research Questions

In this study, we identified a population of teachers who had
enrolled in graduate school to learn how to better work with their
populations of ELs. We used a modified design-based research approach
(Wang & Hannefin, 2005) and basic elements of Engeström’s (1987)
AST model in an attempt to identify insiders’ perspectives on specific
factors supporting or inhibiting the use of technology in classes with
ELs. The questions that guided this study were:

1. How do teachers perceive teacher made movies help ELs develop
academic language?

2. What factors control teachers’ use of technology?

Methodology

Participants were 26 teachers, 2 males and 24 females from rural
areas of the state of Illinois in the US. Fifteen taught at the elementary
level, nine worked at the secondary level, and two were middle school
administrators. What the teachers had in common was that they were
completing coursework to become highly qualified to work with ELs.
They were enrolled in their sixth graduate course together. Course
delivery was in a format of four face-to-face sessions and ten on
line classes. One participant was Latina, three were English Spanish
bilinguals, and the rest were monolingual English speakers. The

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teachers represented 16 different school districts covering a range of
approximately 150 miles. All schools were at least 40-50 miles from the
city of Chicago, IL. The teachers were part of a grant project focused on
preparing teachers to work with ELs in rural school districts.

We showed the teachers how to use the Microsoft Windows
Moviemaker application. Their task was to work in teams over a
period of four months to design and each teach one lesson to ELs with
identified English language and content objectives. The lesson would
include a performance assessment task and a pre and a post-evaluation
of learners. The teachers could choose to incorporate their movie any
time during their lessons; as part of or after the anticipatory set, and/or
as an assessment tool at any point in the lesson.

We told the teachers their role was to be participants/collaborators
in the research. We used the term collaborators out of respect. Many of
the teachers had master’s degrees and were well-seasoned educators.
They were pleased that we valued their expertise. We shared the study’s
questions and explained their role during class time. We enrolled
the teachers in our research by explaining that they would be asked
to write reflectively about their experience of integrating technology.
We showed them Engeström’s AST triangle as a model for capturing
activities (1987) and explained its components. Refer to Figure 1 for a
pictorial definition of tools, rules, and labor.

Figure 1. Engstrom’s AST Triangle

Data Collection and Analysis

Each participant completed an open-ended survey and participated
in a focus group of ten people. Survey prompts asked the teachers to share
what supports or inhibits their use of technology with their students,
and to evaluate the effects of the technology use on ELs’ learning. The

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teachers were asked to examine their students’ learning informally and
not with a summative examination. Focus group questions involved
the teachers in a conversation related to their experience designing,
creating, and using the movies. Refer to Table 1 for the questions used
in the focus groups.

Table 1. Focus Group Questions

What types of technology do you use in your teaching?

Besides for teaching, how do you envision using your new found skill
as a movie maker?

What did you learn from this experience?

How did adding the movie impact instruction?

Will you show your ELss how to make their own movies?

What types of technology do you require your ELs to learn and use in
their assignments?

What would make it easier for you to use technology in your teaching?

What is unique about using technology with ELs?

What technology challenges do you encounter in your teaching?

The focus group conversations were analyzed qualitatively and
quantitatively in order to identify recurring or absent themes (Strauss
& Corbin, 1990), themes that promoted new pedagogies, collaboration
and/or difficulties faced by the teachers, and strong reactions in
participants. Symbolic convergence theory (SCT) (Daniel, 2002) was
used to analyze the themes that caused the greater emotional responses.
SCT has been used in previous studies with teachers engaged in focus
group conversations to document the development of ideas. In this
study, the themes that evoke greater emotional responses are those
that constitute the reality of life in the schoolhouse for the teachers
(Bormann, 1983). We independently coded the survey responses and
the focus group conversations prior to comparing our findings. We also
examined the reflective piece that was part of the lessons the teachers
prepared.

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Results

Teacher comments in both the focus groups and the open-ended
survey questions highlight that regardless of the funding available to
a school district, the teachers either experience high-tension levels as
they attempt to integrate technology into the curriculum, or face very
few tensions. Furthermore, the main determinant of whether or not a
teacher experienced high or low degrees of tension was the support
or lack of support for the use of technology from the administrators.
Noteworthy themes in this research can be divided into four categories:
engagement of ELs, available technology, access to technology, and
support for technology use.

Engaging ELs

Although creating movies was a new experience for all but two
participants, as a group the teachers unanimously agreed that the movies
they prepared helped the ELs in their classrooms to gain greater access
to the curriculum. The teachers also shared that their movie-making
efforts garnered approval by their students. One teacher commented,
“Omar (a pseudonym) made a movie with pictures of his uncle’s
friends to tell the story of their salsa band and brought it to class.”
Teacher comments suggest they initially perceived technology would
serve the learners well as a medium for introducing new language and
discussing content. However, once they designed their movies and used
them, they discovered that they could also use them to guide learners
as they completed assignments, and as evaluation protocols. Gloria (a
pseudonym), an older teacher from a group of four shared, “Now that I
know how to make a movie, the next step is to ask my students to do it.
And I will use it to replace the test. I will be able to evaluate what they
have learned in a way that won’t punish them.” This foursome was an
interesting group of educators because two of the teachers were mother
and daughter and were employed in two different districts. It was the
mother who was so amazed at the student involvement. As a reaction,
the group discussed the benefits of modeling the technology for their
students. It seemed that all participants saw how easily they could better
connect with the technologically savvy generation.

There seemed to be an element of surprise present as the teachers
made links between their observations and the Cognitive Academic
Language Learning Approach (CALLA), one of the textbooks
they had used in the course they had completed the prior semester
(Chamot, 2009). CALLA is a reflective approach to lesson planning
for teachers of ELs. It divides teacher responsibilities into five stages;

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preparation, presentation, practice, self-evaluation, and expansion.
Teacher comments demonstrate agreement across all participants that
teacher made movies improve instruction at all stages. One group of
teachers reported using the movies to “ activate prior knowledge, use
new vocabulary, and to explain and model.” Another group used the
movies “to teach students strategies and self-assessment.” Yet a third
group reported the movies “worked well in the anticipatory set and in
expansion activities.” One group of teachers excitedly shared, as one
spoke over the other, and the rest nodded in agreement, “We feel that
the videos helped all students, not just the ELs, better understand the
information included in our unit, as well as develop ideas and insights
into the altars they were making for a culmination of this unit.” One
teacher’s statement wholeheartedly supports technology as part and
parcel of all classroom instruction. This teacher stated, “After learning
to make digital movies and implementing my movies into a lesson, I
hope to learn how to better implement my movies in my lesson planning.
The ELs love using this type of technology.” The teacher seated next
to her added, “This component of instruction has created great interest.
They are using the language in the movie.”

Available Technology

The teachers seemed accepting of whether or not they had
available technologies. One district administrator shared, “There’s
nothing built into school budgets about how many computers a school
should have.” The other administrator in the group acknowledged the
problems in his district when he said “There’s typically a 10 year cycle
for replacing computers in budgets.”

None of the participants considered their expertise as needing to
be nurtured or as an available technology tool. It is of interest that many
of the schools represented have plenty of current technologies such
as digital cameras, smart boards, and document cameras financed by
grants. Although the teachers were cognizant that grants were financing
the new technologies they were confident that their schools would not
be adversely affected by a lack of grant monies in the future. Some of
the teachers mentioned issues such as broken equipment, inadequate
staff development, and low student to computer ratios. One teacher
complained that in her district “there is one mobile laboratory for 1500
students.”

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Access to Technology

Access to technology was an ongoing repeated theme and a
major problem in the majority of the schools represented. In some
schools accessing the internet and downloading new programs is
never a challenge while in others, there is great tension. Many of the
teachers expressed their frustrations when they assign their students to
do research on the internet and many sites are blocked. One teacher’s
statement captures the tensions in her low functioning system. She
said “In my school we are required to email problems to the tech staff.
How can we email if our computer breaks down? So we have to go to
another classroom to email them. And then they don’t come.” Although
on the one hand the teachers accept their limitations, technology access
created an uproar in the groups.

Community Support for Technology

Teachers from high-tension systems report being held back by
administrators who control access to technology. Several of the teachers
mentioned “friction between colleagues who oppose technology
infusion.” They believe the “lack (of) time needed to develop
technology expertise is an issue.” In the focus group conversations
there was unanimous agreement that working in groups had allowed
them to collaborate because “When I didn’t know the answer there was
someone to help me.” The teachers emphasized their need to have time
to collaborate. They shared that it was the support they gave each other
that kept them committed to finishing the movie-making project. One
teacher group even admitted to having gone on the internet and asked
questions of a 14-year-old who was technologically savvy.

Conclusions and Implications for Practice

Implications from this study are that school districts that support
teachers using technology make it possible for their teachers to better
address their ELs’ needs. There was great enthusiasm on the part of the
teachers even in the face of the frustrations they shared. It is revealing
that the obstacles identified in this study do not suggest that teachers are
unwilling to learn new approaches. Instead, they support collaborative
curriculum development. It appears that school district personnel apply
for grants and the training grant subsidies finance but often do not go
beyond this to make technology part and parcel of their curriculum.

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Authors

* Mayra C. Daniel is an associate professor in the Department
of Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University, De Kalb,
IL. She earned her Ed. D in Curriculum and Instruction from
Illinois State University. Her research interests include critical
literacy, multicultural education and reading and writing in a
second language.
Email: mcdaniel@niu.edu

* John E. Cowan has a Ph.D in Language, Literacy and
Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico.
He is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational
Technology and Research at Northern Illinois University. His
research interests include educational technology, training and
learning technologies.
Email: jcowan@niu.edu

ExPLorinG tEachErs´ usE of tEchnoLoGy
in cLassrooms of biLinGuaL studEnts

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