Innovation in the English Classroom

amalia hafner táboasahafner1@alumno.uned.es

in the english classroom

Innovation

5. current & future call research

4. approaches to computer-assisted language learning (call)

3. DIGITAL MATERIALS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

2. technology IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

1. teaching & learning in the 21st century

contents

teaching & learning in the 21st century

Student

Teacher

Connectivism as the key learning theory

• Open Educational Resources (OER)
• Web content curators
• Personal Learning Environments (PLE)
• Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs)
• Mobile-Assisted Learning

new tools

&

new roles

new ways

teaching & learning in the 21st century

• Lifelong learning
• Informal learning
• Learning-by-doing approach
• Use of ICT
• Information framed as network
• Interaction & collaboration
• Knowledge management
• Personalisation & diversity
• CONNECTIVISM

key trends

new ways of teaching & learning

Info

George Siemens

Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today.

connectivism

vs

learner-centred approach

• Facilitator
• Consultant
• Guide of the learning process

traditional teaching

• Transferer of knowledge
• Authority
• Director of the learning process

the teacher's role

This approach calls for a SITUATED & AUTHENTIC learning that considers each student's LEARNING STYLE.

learner-centred approach

• Adaptability to a rapidly changing environment
• Ability to work in a team and collaborate with others
• Creative proposals for problem-solving & their evaluation
• Ability to learn, unlearn and relearn
• Decision-making & abstract thinking techniques
• Independence & autonomy
• DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP: Critical attitude towards information sources

the learner's role

TECHNOLOGY LANGUAGE LEARNING

• Synchronous or asynchronous
• Ubiquitous
• Open to the community
• Flexible
• Prone to adopting new methodologies

• Time limit
• Space-bound
• Closed group interaction
• Some organisational rigidity
• Leaning towards traditional metholodgies

online learning

face-to-face learning

vs

advantages of ict for language learning

Info

This is linked to the DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP concept.

enable more than mere repositories, encouraging higher-order thinking skills.

should not rely exclusively on technology as a neutral tool, but as a cultural object to be critically analysed and leveraged.

must be driven by PEDAGOGY, not technology.

technologies...

LEARNERS...

TEACHERS...

OVERCOMING challenges in the use of ict for language learning

DIGITAL MATERIALS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Info

Learning objectives address different thinking skills. Activities and materials should align with them.

Designing complex tasks (Task-Based Learning approach)

Creating our own resources

Selecting available resources from the internet

different options depending on the learning objectives

creating digital materials

Remembering

Creating

Evaluating

Analyising

Applying

Understanding

Tagging, taking notes

Bookmarking sites, conducting web searches

Can you explain .... in your own words?

What is..? Where is..?

Sharing, editing

Can you find examples of..?

Linking, building mind maps

bloom's taxonomy

revised by anderson & krathwohl (2001)

What conclusions can we draw from..?

Commenting, participating in a forum

What is your opinion about..?

Programming, publishing, participating in a wiki

How would you improve..?

approaches to computer-assisted language learning (call)

Info

integratedcall

open call

restricted call

outline of approaches, not historical phases

bax (2002)

approaches to call

& depending on...

pedagogy

educational technology should be considered...

"CALL will be normalised when computers are treated as always secondary to learning itself, when the needs of learners will be carefully analysed first of all, and then the computer used to serve those needs".Bax (2002)

"CALL will reach this [normalisation] state when computers (probably very different in shape and size from their current manifestations) are used every day by language students and teachers as an integral part of every lesson, like a pen or a book".

invisible

towards normalisation

• Meticulous etnographic research can contribute to identifying the factors that can facilitate or hinder technology integration in a given context.
• A reflexive and sistematic analysis of the teachers' own experience encourages innovation. From a participatory action research perspective, teachers can experiment with different methodologies, activities and tools while carefully observing and analysing the outcome. The resulting conclusions feed into an action plan to improve the experience in the future.

how do we move from the fear / awe stage and normalise educational technology?

current & future call research

most used methods are small-scale empirical studies, which imply difficulties for generalising conclusions

most addressed topics are: writing, cmc, vocabulary, speaking, corpora, nlp, design, teacher ed., listening, reading, web 2.0., grammar, feedback

most research is concentrated in seven countries (but expanding steadily)

Gillespie (2020)

current research on call

Addressing all aspects of language

Longitudinal studies

Historical & theoretical reflections

More meta-analyses

Gillespie, 2020

thinking strategically about future call research

ahafner1@alumno.uned.es

Thank you

The 5 Rights of OERs

• Retain: the right to make, own, and control copies of the content.
• Reuse: the right to use the content in a wide range of ways.
• Revise: the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself.
• Remix: the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new.
• Redistribute: the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others.

There are many resources on the web that teachers can use in their language classes. Educators may select real news pieces and articles, podcasts and songs, conferences, talks and movies, originally in English and addressing any topic, and use them as teaching material in their classes. Additionally, teachers can leverage from specialised English-teaching websites, blogs and Open Educational Resources (OERs), such as: - The British Council- Oxford University Press- English Club- OER Commons

Web resources

• It's not possible to learn without others.
• To learn is to interpret and re-work what you've learned.
• Learning is consolidated when you communicate your ideas to others.
• The learning process improves when the channels you use are collaborative and encourage participation.

CONNECTIVISM

Defining features

Nowadays, we should also add emerging technologies to CALL research, such as AI-based learning models, chatbots, and image generation, among others.

Future topics for CALL research

Gillespie suggests broadening and deepening the research field by addressing:

• Specialist degrees
• Advanced language skills
• Language & culture
• Translation & interpretation

Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) offer quality resources and materials for free, while also encouraging a learner-centred approach by design. However, learners might consider LMOOCs as less enjoyable and productive than face-to-face classes, because they don't easily incorporate oral interaction and practise.A small percentage of LMOOCs subscribers actually finalise the courses.

Strengths & challenges

Teachers can plan activities to guide students when looking for specific information on the web. Webquests, and in a simpler form, Web tasks and Treasure Hunts, are structured instructions for students to find information in pre-selected sources. This way, students acquire digital and informational competencies, while teachers work as facilitators, scaffolding the process.

Webquests

Teachers need to develop appropriate SKILLS to make an effective use of ICT for teaching in a learner-centred approach. SCAFFOLDING is key when designing and implementing ICT-supported materials in class.

Designing and using teacher blogs, student blogs, class blogs, and institutional blogs can become good opportunities to foster learners' communicative skills. They can also serve as an appropriate context to work collaboratively and foster author-reader interaction. When designing a blog, learners can use resources in different formats (text, audio, video) to transform information and build an original product. Blogs can be a great final product within a project-based learning approach.

Educational Blogs

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an approach to teaching and learning foreign/second languages in which computers, computer-based resources and information technology are used to present, reinforce and assess the material to be learned.CALL embraces a wide range of tools and applications, and approaches to implementing them.

CALL

A definition