Creative language learning projects with emerging digital media

Abstract

This paper introduces seven genres of the digital media projects that can help the 21st century EFL learner develop intercultural communication capability (ICC) in English with creativity afforded by emerging digital media. It is based on a project by the author and a group of pre-service teachers during the Fall semester of 2012-2013. Guided by a list of suggested topics and the concept of learner-centeredness, the team discovered many useful project ideas. Although communicative language teaching, taskbased language teaching, and multiple intelligences are all behind the applications, we found that when learner-centeredness is the guiding principle and ICC is the goal, possibilities are abundant. It is true that we are only limited by our imagination when it comes to teaching a language with digital media. The purpose of this workshop is not to exhaust all the possibilities, but to help the audience become aware of the availability of the many language learning projects which afford opportunities for the key principle and the goal. As new tools emerge, the particular digital media introduced might become obsolete, but the key concepts presented here will make sure that new tools will be used in a creative and meaningful way to support language learning.