Surfing in Club Penguin and other innovative ESL teaching methods
The proliferation of digital information in this technology age provokes the rethinking of English as a Second Language (ESL) instructional practices. These technological advancements together with emergent theories of learning create opportunity for transformation in ESL pedagogy. Sociocultural theory and constructivist conventions invoke situated and authentic access to the growing corpus of online language and social computing websites in ESL teaching. For example, access to ESL students' first languages (L1) can enhance the experiences of writing in the target language of English (L2). Further, L2 writers benefit from access to online sociocultural and constructivist teaching approaches which incorporate articulate, reflection, scaffolding and a community of learners. Asynchronous online forums or blogs offer temporal and spatial affordances to ESL students. Finally, there are emerging trends in ESL teaching strategies featuring the incorporate of social online sites, internet tools, key pals, e-portfolios and digital storytelling. Virtual immersive environments, such as ActiveWorlds, and multiplayer children's online games, such as Club Penguin, provide forums for students to socialize and converse in L2 English in less formal settings that face-to-face, allowing time for responses to be formulated and expressed without concerns related to accent. The challenges accompanying these online pedagogical opportunities include planning and design and addressing the digital divide. Advances in Web 2.0 social computing, online virtual worlds and emergent digital teaching resources afford practitioners innovative tools for transformation in ESL teaching methods.
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