Yoon, S. J., & Gruba, P., (2019) Evaluating normalisation: An argument-based approach, System, May 2019.
Normalisation, the idea that technology would “grow and disappear” in the language learning curriculum, was articulated in the seminal work of Prof. Stephen Bax in his articles: CALL—Past, Present and Future (2003) and Normalisation Revisited: The Effective Use of Technology in Language Education (2011)
This article, drawing on the work of Prof. Bax, reports on the process and results of an evaluation of the level of normalisation achieved in blended language courses at the University of Melbourne. The researchers found that minimal normalization had been achieved in these courses, and go on to discuss several factors that may inhibit its full achievement. The research points to the importance of addressing the digital literacy needs of both instructors and students, the need to move away from an over-emphasis on technology tools to a focus on technology for pedagogical purposes. Such a re-focus would support instructors to enhance their ability to apply pedagogical principles in planning for and in implementing technology in their teaching practice.
Available for purchase ($19.95) USD at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0346251X18305414
Bax, S. (2013). Normalisation Revisited: The Effective Use of Technology in Language Education.
This article revisits the issue of the normalisation of technology in language education, defined as the stage at which a technology is used in language education without users being consciously aware of its role as a technology, as an effective element in the language learning process (Bax, 2003). It proposes a methodology to introduce new technologies into language education settings with maximum impact. The article cites some of the researchers who have addressed normalisation in discussions concerning the role of technology in language education. Bax uses the examples of attitudes of “excessive awe” and “exaggerated fear” to emphasize the importance of looking critically at whether any proposed new technology is necessary. He presents elements of effective educational practice and shows how modern technology can help with providing those elements, but emphasizes that learning also requires mediation from teacher experts who will intervene as needed. This article suggests tools and processes that would be helpful in the area of program readiness.
Bax, S. (2003). CALL—Past, Present and Future. System, 31, 13–28.
This widely-cited article looks at different ways of recording the history of Computer-assisted language learning (CALL), but at the same time explores an ultimate goal for the place of technology in language classrooms. Bax begins by asking where CALL has been, where it is in 2003 and where it is going. In the section of the article about the future of CALL, the author argues that if language programs are to benefit fully from the potential which computers and computer technologies offer, there needs to be a move towards what he calls “normalisation”, which is the situation when these technologies are used daily and as naturally as other resources in the classroom – they are integrated into learning and they are secondary to learning itself. Instructors and managers will be interested in the list of different stages on the road to normalisation. These have been identified in diffusion of innovations research. Many of the suggestions about what is needed to achieve normalisation, e.g., better software, more action research and especially the size, shape and position of the classroom computer are still relevant today.
Cost: USD $19.95