Transforming the Learning of English through Recontextualisation: from the Notebook to the Computer Graphic Organiser

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of a group of students, from a disadvantage background, with the use of Computer Graphic Organisers (CGOs) in their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class. More specifically, the paper analyses students’ recontextualisation of their English language learning process in performing reading comprehension activities. The participants were students from the Distrito de Aguablanca in Cali, enrolled in a Computer System Technician Program in a state funded institution. Action research was carried out for 12 weeks using the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition Model (SAMR) to enable the integration of technology in the classroom. Data were collected through, focus group, semi-structured interviews, observations.  The results reveal that CGOs are effective for the learning process of students.  The study concludes that the introduction of technology through the use of CGOs requires a willingness on the part of the teacher to bring about technological change in the classroom, and an openness to the effective recontextualisation of the students’ learning process. Furthermore, it shows that recontextualisation and CGOs have a positive impact on the students learning and creativity which in turn improve their performance and attitudes towards English language learning.