The Digital Enclave: How Tech Devices Inhibit Language Learning
By: Barbara Castleton
Tags: English, Students, Education, Language Learning, Strategy

Every fall, thousands of colleges throughout the United States welcome international students who have traveled great distances to gain entrance to an American education. F-1 visa in hand, a proven source of funds documented in banks, and more luggage than astronauts took to the moon, they arrive to begin a real-life academic experience. Often their studies begin with courses in English language skills. Picture these arrivals, and then picture all those English deficient students calmly shooting themselves in the foot.

That metaphor outlines the reality as these young people exit the plane and grab their cell phone to text or dial home. Since everyone is doing the same thing, it might be easy to miss the impending mishap. In short, that phone, plus the laptop in the carryon bag, and the iPad or tablet nestled in each student’s backpack constitute home. Not simply home, but the home language. And therein lies the problem. The act of texting, calling, viewing, and surfing in a home language may well be the primary reason why some international students struggle to master English, to achieve grammatical proficiency, and to develop competence in manipulating the language as required by academic and career tasks.

Cell phones are a premier language delivery system.

Cell phones, iPads, tablets, all handheld, all loaded with dozens of native language apps, constitute a digital enclave, a space in which the student can re-immerse himself in the tongue of his ancestors. With every tap on the screen, the student leaves the US and revisits the place he is most comfortable. Of course, this desire for familiarity is natural. Having lived overseas several times during my life, I can attest to the realities and challenges of culture shock. That alien environment, which seemed like such an exciting option, comes laden with a sea of differences, and for young people, that sea may conjure thoughts of drowning. So, the desire to connect to home and country is expected. Still, the action of constantly bouncing back into Vietnamese, Arabic, Kazakh, or Chinese inhibits students’ English language learning abilities.

As an English as a Second Language instructor in a Seattle intensive language program, I have surveyed students over the last several years as to their home-language use. The figures are staggering. For many, the only time they use English is in class. On breaks, out pop the phones, and students flip from English to their mother tongue. Twenty years ago, in the pre-cell phone era, that switch wasn’t possible. Students were motivated to learn English simply to make friends, prepare for college classes, and gain access to entertainment on television or at the movies. Cognitively, it was a different age. Today, in classroom surveys, students report that they are using their home language almost as much as they did when they lived at home.

Imagine Marco, a 21-year-old Vietnamese student who loves hip hop, boy groups, and fashion. He is in daily touch with his “homies” via instant messaging, to the tune of 500 or more short texts per day, all in his L1. Those friends share his interests, report on the latest trends, and leave him feeling connected, even as he lives and studies thousands of miles away. In addition to native-language texts, Marco watches Vietnamese music videos, fashion news, movies, and even television. The texts, videos and other programming take up hours of Marco’s free time each day, hours in which he is not speaking, listening, writing, or reading English. So, he struggles as that homeland tether remains in place.

Lion King project for ESL students.

Intensive English and other language programs in the U.S. have 1000s of Marcos. In fact, international student life in the U.S. has never been so similar to an ethnic enclave community, with a single narrow distinction. Today, due to electronic devices, every student can actually become an enclave of one, a linguistic bubble that moves freely around a U.S. city, a local campus, or a neighborhood without the need to dip a toe into the dominant local language. Marco could live in Seattle English-free, even as his parents sacrifice financially to keep him here.

So, how to mitigate this technological elephant? My answer, and that of many colleagues, is to make friends with students’ devices. We require English app downloads — dictionaries, thesauruses, writing help connections, grammar answer sites, and much more. Videos are assigned with a thoughtful response to follow. Exercises are completed and uploaded. Discussions occur within the school platform, groups collaborate on projects, and students are paired with “study buddies” from a different language group. It’s not perfect. It’s not “old school”. Still, each of these strategies becomes a small buffer that serves to mute the trumpeting of their digital pachyderm.