ELT Journal Advance Access published October 29, 2013

technology for the language teacher

Digital technologies in low-resource

ELT contexts
Nicky Hockly

The use of new technologies in English language teaching is often

associated with higher resource contexts, particularly in so-called
developed countries. However, low-resource contexts are also
witnessing innovative projects involving digital technologies, both
at the national level and through smaller scale initiatives. In this
article, we discuss some of the challenges associated with using digital
technologies in low-resource ELT contexts, outline example projects,
and summarize key issues.

Low-resource
contexts

Discussions about access to technology frequently centre around the

notion of the digital divide. Often understood to refer to the difference
in access to technology between developed countries (who have
technology) and developing countries (who do not), the idea of the digital
divide can also be applied within individual countries (for example
between urban and rural areas) and even within individual classrooms
(for example between learners who have access to technology at home
and those who do not). This more nuanced understanding of the digital
divide suggests that teachers working in high-resource contexts may
find themselves working in resource-poor institutions or classrooms.
In addition, even broader definitions of a digital divide might include
the difference between effective and ineffective uses of technology for
language learning (Yang and Egbert 2004), regardless of the technology
available and the divide between those who have the necessary skills to
use technology effectively and those who do not (Warschauer 2011).
In this article, however, the discussion will focus on how digital
technologies are being deployed within ELT in what are generally
considered to be low-resource contexts, that is, where the costs of
hardware and infrastructure generally limit access to technology.
It is tempting to believe that it is simply not possible to use digital
technologies in such low-resource contexts because of the erroneous
ELT Journal; doi:10.1093/elt/cct063

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In this series, we explore current technology-related themes and topics. The

series aims to discuss and demystify what may be new areas for some readers
and to consider their relevance to English language teachers.

assumption that good CALL activities and lessons can only be

carried out with the use of advanced and cutting-edge technologies
(Yang and Egbert op.cit.: 281). Yet, effective technology use in lowresource contexts utilizes a wide range of new and older technologies.
Key to the effective deployment of technologies in these contexts
is the cultural appropriacy of materials and approaches, using
appropriate technologies, keeping costs low, and ensuring long-term
sustainability.
Three different approaches to digital initiatives within low-resource
contexts can be identified: national projects, institution-led projects, and
projects carried out by individual teachers. Each of these approaches
has significantly different levels of access to funding, different
scalability (that is, the potential for use with increasingly large groups),
and different time frames. We examine each of these three approaches
in more detail below.

National projects

Best known are large-scale projects, some of which have received

significant media attention. Nicholas Negropontes One Laptop
per Child (OLPC) initiative or Sugata Mitras Self-Organized
Learning Environment (SOLE) are two well-publicized projects
in low-resource contexts. Although neither of these initiatives is
exclusively aimed at language learning and both have come under
criticism (see below), the OLPC initiative has impacted significantly
on English language learning in some countries. Plan Ceibal en
Ingls in Uruguay and Conectar Igualdad in Argentina both aim to
put low-cost laptops into the hands of primary school children (and
in later phases, into the hands of secondary and tertiary students)
and specifically aim to develop the childrens English language
skills along with their knowledge of other curriculum subjects.
Many other countries, from Afghanistan to Venezuela, from Nepal
to Rwanda, are similarly working on OLPC initiatives. All of these
projects are designed to run over several years and so work with
extended time frames.
Some OLPC projectssuch as that carried out in Ethiopia, where
laptops were parachuted into remote areashave been criticized for
being neither sustainable nor sensitive to the local cultural context
(Clark 2013). However, there have been some notable successes, such as
the Plan Ceibal en Ingls initiative in Uruguay. Initial evaluations of the
project have found that students in the programme score better on tests
and examinations than previously (El Observador 2013).
Other large-scale projects focus specifically on English language
learning and on teacher training. Jointly funded by non-governmental
organizations, Ministries of Education, hardware and/or software
providers, mobile telephone companies, and educational institutions
such as the British Council or universities, a large number of projects
are taking place all over the world, for example:

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English in Action/BBC Janala project in Bangladesh

Mobiledu project in China

Nicky Hockly

MILLEE (Mobile and Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging

Economies) project in India
British Council Learn English SMS project in Libya and Sudan
TALULAR (Teaching and Learning Using Locally Available
Resources) SMS teacher mentoring project in Indonesia
Great Idea project in Afghanistan.

(see Pegrum 2014 (in press) for detailed discussion of these developments).
Many of these projects have a social justice agenda, for example
aiming to improve childrens literacy in rural low-income groups
(the MILLEE project) or aiming to provide greater access to
technology for disadvantaged women (the BBC Janala project, see
Tyers 2012). Significantly, all of these projects are based on the use
of mobile devices. Obviating the need for expensive hardware and
infrastructure, low-cost mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous
even in very low-resource contexts, and as such are enabling learners
to access learning materials in places, and in formats, that were
previously impossible.
Beyond the digital technologies discussed above, we should not forget
that older non-electronic technologies, such as radio and television,
still have a place in national and regional ELT projects. Describing
the continued importance of these technologies, the British Council
Broadcast Media Manager Julian Wing explains:
British Council radio programmes reach millions of learners.
Despite the growth of digital media for ELT, there is still a great
appetite for radio ELT in many parts of the world, especially Africa.
Radio is considered positively by society at large as a medium for
education. It reaches parts of the world which other media still
havent reached and it has a long history in terms of providing
educational opportunity to learners. (Wing, personal communication
2013)

Institutional
initiatives

In low-resource contexts, individual institutions or universities also

carry out the strategic implementation of digital technologies to support
language learning. For example, The Casa Thomas Jefferson in Brazil
uses class sets of iPad tablet computers with disadvantaged learners,
as well as with their more affluent students. Similarly, teachers at the
British Council in Hong Kong integrate the use of tablet computers
into their classroom practice. Strongly supported by ongoing teacher
development and a well thought-out implementation plan, both projects
are examples of good practice in the integration of digital technologies
into low-resource contexts (see Hockly and Dudeney 2014 (in press) for
further details).
Of course, tablet computers such as iPads are prohibitively expensive
outside of private institutions in most low-resource contexts. However,
other equally innovative initiatives with digital technologies of
much lower cost have also been trialled in public institutions. For
example, a blended learning EAP project at the Federal University of

Digital technologies in low-resource ELT contexts

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Technology Akure (FUTA) in Nigeria uses a free VLE (virtual learning

environment) to support student learning outside the classroom,
in a context where universities are low-resourced with the triple
constraints of few teachers, large classes and grossly inadequate
facilities (Aborisade 2013: 35). In FUTA, the main driver of change
to incorporating technology in our practice is pedagogicthe large
class situation that made interaction in English [...] difficult, if not
impossible (ibid.:36).
The reasons for introducing digital technologies in low-resource
contexts may vary. In one institutional blended learning project
inEgypt,
as a result of increased political tension [...], and the resultant
disruption to classes and learning, there was a general advantage in
enabling the students to participate in flexible online collaborative
learning. This meant that if students were unable to attend classes,
having material online would enable them to study independently
and help maintain motivation in between face-to-face lessons. (Fleet
2013: 202)
However, institutions simply imposing digital technologies can meet
with resistance from students. In the Egyptian project, the institution
found that the face-to-face part of the blend is crucial in motivating
students to participate in any web-based element. Without this, in
view of their educational background, it is likely that many will feel
isolated and unenthusiastic (ibid.: 204). Similarly, a blended learning
institution-led project in Turkey concluded:
If students use an online programme for the first time, it will take
some time for them to get used to it. The way students are used to
studying should be taken into consideration. [...]. In the study, the
compulsory use of the online programme was one of the reasons for
the student discontent. It seems that although students today are very
technology oriented in their daily lives, they may not be as eager in
their learning. (Bilgin 2013: 210)

Individual teachers

On an even smaller scale, teachers who are early adopters of technology

often experiment on an ad hoc basis with small groups of students,
sometimes with little or no support from their institutions. In Turkey,
Tran and Ugur (2012)report using smart phones with their learners
and Kern (2013) provides podcasts for taxi drivers outside of class
time. In both cases, the teachers used technology already owned by the
students. In Kerns words, The technologytheir mobile phoneswas
already available and they knew how to use them. [...] and no additional
cost or technology training was needed (Kern ibid.:134).
There are also many cases of individual teachers making a significant
difference to the adoption of digital technologies within their
institutions, and sometimes even influencing uptake on a national
level, despite significant barriers and a lack of support, for example in
Sudan (Fawzi), Nigeria (Dalha), Brazil (Menezes and Braga), or Iran

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Nicky Hockly

(Marandi), all outlined in Egbert 2010. (Several more case studies of

how teachers use technology have been collated by the University of
Manchester and Cambridge University Press over a two-year period
(available at http://goo.gl/zSA86f); a further number of case studies of
individual teachers using digital technologies in low-resource contexts
can be found in Motteram 2013.)

Key issues in lowresource contexts

Thus, despite significant challenges such as access to limited

hardware and infrastructureand even censorship (Yeok-Hwa
Ngeow 2010)there are many examples of teachers, institutions,
and nations using digital technologies effectively in low-resource
contexts. Yet, whatever their scale, a number of issues need to be
borne in mind if the deployment of digital technologies in lowresource contexts is to be effective. As the examples in this article
illustrate, the choice of not just hardware and software but the
teaching and learning approach and the instructional design of
materials must be aligned to the reality of the local cultural and
educational contexts. Clearly there is no single technology that works
best in low-resource contexts. As in any context, myriad factors
such as (lack of) teacher training, student motivation, class size,
limited class time, educational beliefs, access to resources, culturally
appropriate materials, culturally sensitive approaches, and even
political realities will determine how to work most effectively with
digital technologies. And many of the case studies show that those
most prepared to face these challenges and work towards a solution
are those ELT teachers already working and living in these contexts,
whether they are working alone, with their institutions, or as part of
large national projects.

References
Aborisade, P. 2013. Blended learning in English
for Academic Purposes courses: a Nigerian case
study in B. Tomlinson and C. Whittaker (eds.).
Bilgin, H. 2013. Students CALLing: blended
language learning for students in B. Tomlinson
and C. Whittaker (eds.).
Clark, D. 2013. Negroponte: 10 reasons why
his Ethiopian project smacks of educational
colonialism. Post on blog Plan B. Available at
http://goo.gl/EZpQUc (accessed on 30 August
2013).
Egbert, J. (ed.). 2010. CALL in Limited Technology
Contexts. CALICO Monograph Series Volume 9.
San Marcos, TX: CALICO.
El Observador (newspaper). 2013. Ceibal en
Ingls da buenos resultados y se extiende a
25.000 nios. Available at http://goo.gl/GTqFLm
(accessed on 30 August 2013).
Fleet, L. 2013 A blended learning approach to soft
skill training at Al Azhar University, Cairo in
B. Tomlinson and C. Whittaker (eds.).

Hockly, N. and G.Dudeney. 2014 (in press). Going

Mobile: Teaching and Learning with Handheld
Devices. London: Delta Publishing.
Kern, N. 2013. Blended learning: podcasts for taxi
drivers in B. Tomlinson and C. Whittaker (eds.).
Motteram, G. (ed.). 2013. Innovations in Learning
Technologies for English Language Teaching.
London: British Council. Available at http:
//goo.gl/qdZ4cm (accessed on 30 August 2013).
Pegrum, M. 2014 (in press). Mobile Learning:
Languages, Literacies & Cultures. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Tran, K. and .Ugur. 2012. Smartphones in
grade 8: hot or not. Presentation at IATEFL
Annual Conference, Glasgow, UK, 1923 March.
Available at http://goo.gl/bmQelx (accessed on 30
August 2013).
Tomlinson, B. and C. Whittaker (eds.). 2013.
Blended Learning in English Language Teaching:
Course Design and Implementation. London: British
Council. Available at http://goo.gl/M9cyA2
(accessed on 30 August 2013).

Digital technologies in low-resource ELT contexts

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Tyers, A. 2012. A gender digital divide?

Women learning English through ICTs in
Bangladesh. CEUR Workshop Proceedings.
Helsinki, Finland, 1618 October. Available at
http://goo.gl/LEqJ3u (accessed on 30 August
2013).
Warschauer, M. 2011. Learning in the Cloud:
How (and Why) to Transform Schools with
Digital Media. New York, NY: Teachers
College Press.
Yang, Y. and J.Egbert. 2004. Mediating the digital
divide in CALL classrooms: promoting effective
language tasks in limited technology contexts.
ReCALL Journal 16/2: 28091.
Yeok-Hwa Ngeow, K. 2010. Restricted internet
access and censorship: CALL alternatives and
initiatives in J. Egbert (ed.). CALL in Limited

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Nicky Hockly

Technology Contexts. CALICO Monograph Series

Volume 9. San Marcos, TX: CALICO.

The author
Nicky Hockly is a Director of Pedagogy with The
Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com), an
online training and development organization.
She has been involved in EFL teaching and teacher
training since 1987 and is co-author of How to Teach
English with Technology, Learning English as a Foreign
Language for Dummies, Teaching Online, and most
recently, Digital Literacies (2013), as well as an e-book,
Webinars: ACookbook for Educators. She maintains a
blog about e-learning at www.emoderationskills.com
and is a keen user of new technologies.
Email: nicky.hockly@theconsultants-e.com