Three Ways that Technology Can Address Language Barriers & Digital Skills Gaps
By: Katie Brown & Rachel Riggs
We’ve been talking about technology’s role in education for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a massive and abrupt shift online, with technology mediating almost all aspects of our lives today. And now, as AI explodes onto the scene, the pace of change shows no signs of relenting.
Yet even as tech evolves at a rapid clip, the needs of many adult English learners remain the same: Two in three workers with emerging English proficiency also either lack digital skills or have limited digital skills, defined as the ability to access, create, and share information using digital media platforms, including computers and smartphones. Digital skills gaps have dramatic consequences for learners’ lives and livelihoods, especially as 92% of jobs in the United States now require digital literacy.
Fortunately, acquiring English skills and digital skills can go hand-in-hand, especially if we use best practices to teach and learn with tech.
The stakes are high to get this right: That’s why we joined two expert colleagues – Fatma Ghailan of Queens Public Library and Sarah Cacicio of the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network – in a webinar with COABE (Coalition on Adult Basic Education) about how to effectively use technology to drive outcomes for adult learners, especially adult English learners. Combined, we have over 50 years of thinking about tech in education, and we’re eager to offer our experience and insights to the field. Here are three takeaways from the conversation:
Start with learners’ existing access, skills, and experiences.
Adults learn best when instruction is immediately applicable to their lives and livelihoods, and learning languages and digital skills is no different. From Google Maps and WhatsApp to email and texting, tech is ingrained in almost every aspect of our lives. Knowing how to effectively access and utilize these platforms is a real-world goal for many learners.
Engaging in what Ghailan calls “low-stakes” opportunities – like sending text messages in a target language – helps learners feel comfortable with both using tech and communicating in English, meeting goals simultaneously. Learners can build confidence by communicating in a new language and using technology before having to apply these skills in a higher-stakes environment, like taking a computerized assessment or scheduling a job interview by email.
What’s more, enabling students to engage in learning using the apps and personal tech already installed on their smartphones – a computer nearly all learners can access – can support personalized learning. Ghailan offers an example: “Sending a Google calendar invite for English class gets students in the habit of using tech, even if they already know the class schedule.”
Of course, in order to build on learners’ existing access, skills, and experiences, we have to know what they are! This is where digital skills frameworks and assessments, along with surveys and data about learner’s access to the internet and devices, and less formalized but equally important strategies, like empathy interviews, can be extremely useful.
Leverage technology to engage diverse sets of learners at the same time.
Teaching adults is often more an act of facilitating learning than delivering it. This is particularly true when learners with different interests, different digital skills, and/or different levels of English proficiency convene in the same classroom – as is often the case in adult education settings.
“Our job is to help students develop different skills,” explained Cacicio. “Educators can often get in the way of learners: We make too many decisions about their learning pathways. Tech can flip instruction so that we start with skills that students already know, and then integrate language support from there.”
A ChatGPT-generated passage, for example, can offer something for everyone. Learners can review the same text but focus on different things – like reviewing grammar points, engaging in small group activities, or peer tutoring. ChatGPT can also quickly generate contextualized texts on a variety of topics, differentiated for students’ varied interests.
Overcome fear – both for learners AND instructors.
Technology, computing, and digital data are growing fast – by some estimates, doubling every 18 months. Change at this pace can be overwhelming, but providing learners and instructors with ample opportunities to experiment with technology can overcome uncertainty.
Seemingly simple instruction techniques can have a big impact: If learners are afraid of “breaking” a computer and are therefore reluctant to use it, print a keyboard and ask learners to practice typing on paper, a strategy demonstrated in the free and open DART curriculum. When students are comfortable with the layout and characters on the printed keyboard, they may be ready to transition to an actual computer.. By taking a gradual approach to building foundational skills, learners will be better prepared to approach the electronic keyboard with confidence. Never underestimate the impact of using low-tech or no-tech solutions to overcome the anxiety that is sometimes unavoidable when adopting new language and digital skills – particularly for language learners with limited prior experience with computers.
Instructors, too, can be hesitant to embrace tech in their classrooms, especially as teachers – like a growing number of workers – fear being replaced by AI and emerging technology. Adult educators bring human empathy and experience that are essential assets in education, irreplaceable by machines. With the U.S. serving the needs of just 4% of adult English learners, there’s a critical need to continue growing and sustaining the adult educator profession – and for the field to use technology to support and scale our reach.
The EdTech Center @ World Education uses a simple mantra to encourage strategic edtech integration, “Goals before tools.” Continue to lead with the good practices honed with experience in the classroom, and explore how technology can complement those.
“We know that teachers aren’t dispensable,” said Ghailan. “Acknowledge that you are a learner too,” suggested Ghailan.
Watch the full webinar.
Addressing language barriers and the digital skills gap benefits all of us. Check out the full COABE webinar, “Using Technology to Drive Outcomes for Adult Learners: Real-World Success Stories From the Classroom.”
Dr. Katie Brown is Founder & Chief Education Officer of EnGen, an AI-powered English upskilling platform that partners with employers, community colleges, and local governments to advance career mobility and workforce inclusion. Rachel Riggs is a Technical Advisor at The EdTech Center at World Education, dedicated to advancing digital equity and enabling everyone to thrive as learners, workers, and family and community members in the digital world.