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The differences between digital native learners and digital immigrant teachers. Digital Native Learners Digital Immigrant Teachers Prefer receiving information quickly from multiple multimedia sources. Prefer slow and controlled release of information from limited sources. Prefer parallel processing and multitasking. Prefer singular processing and single or limited tasking. Prefer processing pictures, sounds and video before text. Prefer to provide text before pictures, sounds and video. Prefer random access to hyperlinked multimedia information. Prefer to provide information linearly, logically and sequentially. Prefer to interact/network simultaneously with many others. Prefer students to work independently rather than network and interact. Prefer to learn “just-in-time.” Prefer to teach “just-in-case” (it’s on the exam). Prefer instant gratification and instant rewards. Prefer deferred gratification and deferred rewards. Prefer learning that is relevant, instantly useful and fun. Prefer to teach to the curriculum guide and standardized tests.*Ian Jukes and Anita Dosaj, The InfoSavvy Group, February 2003

A more expressive vocabulary Students who have already been learning English for several years have a good grasp of grammar and cope fairly well with the reading that is part of the course. If they are serious students, learning English for a purpose, they will want to get on and pass their exams. What holds them back is the lack of an accurate and appropriate vocabulary in which to discuss topics from climate change to the Olympics, from the history of their town to their hopes for the future. These students need to distinguish better between words they already know, but where their understanding of the full range of meaning and use is incomplete. They need to activate words in their passive vocabulary to enrich their writing and speaking, and they need to master words that are completely new. There is a word, autonym, that means ‘a word that describes itself’: examples include short and polysyllabic. Long and monosyllabic are the opposite. So too, sometimes, is the word interesting, used (as it very frequently is) in learners’ writing: rather than passionate engagement with a topic, what it conveys instead is ineffable dullness: The documentary makes interesting viewing. We had an interesting discussion over lunch. A far greater level of interest is conveyed simply by substituting another word for interesting: The documentary makes compelling viewing. We had a stimulating discussion over lunch.