Composition: History & Theory: 2000 - 2009
Foreign Students and Technology
Description
In their article, “Trends in Computer Use among International Students,” Carol Taylor, Joan Jamieson, and Daniel Eignor assert that the “increasing use of computers in language instruction and assessment raises concerns about access and equity for many international students” (575). The main question of this article seems to be: How familiar are international students with computers? In this report, computer familiarity is defined as the use of English word-processing programs, and frequency of use of the Internet. The authors developed a survey that addressed the following issues: How often do international students use the computer? How often do they use word processing in English? How often do they use the Internet (578)? The results indicated an increase in the use of computers, English word processing, and, the Internet in just a couple of years (By fall 1997 only 5.6% of international students in the United States or Canada said that they had never used a computer, and 69.0% reported using a computer at least once a week (583). This survey illustrates that some students will more than likely need help learning how to use the computer and the Internet once they arrive at North American colleges and universities (583). It is safe to assume that computer use among international students has increased (583).The authors believe that “teachers in EAP programs should continue to assess, rather than assume, the computer familiarity of their students” (584). [TESOL Quarterly. 34.3 (Autumn 2000)]
Date of Upload
3/15/09