Parents

Feat. Aude Duvivier & Concepción González-Acedo

Parents & Virtual Exchange

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Navigation

Links to video featuring parents

Introduction

Reflections

Resources

Links to videos addresed to parents

Contents

Dear parents, This term, your child, will be taking part in a virtual exchange project within his/her language class. Virtual exchange is:

The E-LIVE team also think it's important that teachers involve parents or guardians in what learners are doing. How would you explain a virtual exchange project to parents in simple, jargon-free terms? How would you “sell it” to parents? Think how you would complete the text if you were writing to your learners’ parents.

Learners are not always keen to tell their parents about what they’ve been doing in school but the opposite is often true for virtual exchange! This is because it's an innovative, novel part of their language curriculum.

Introduction

After watching the video, is there any other information you would include? Do you think this format is more effective than a written message?

You can reflect on these questions individually or discuss them with colleagues if this genial.ly is part of a course you are following.

One of our E-LIVE virtual exchange teachers, Marleen Boogard decided to introduce parents/carers to virtual exchange via a short video that you can watch on the next slide.

Video addressed to parents

Watch the video and answer the questions on the following page

Marleen Boogerd tells parents what to expect from VE

What does Marleen hope will happen during VE?

What often happens after the exchanges?

What does every child's teacher guarantee?

What does she suggest parents do while students are involved in VE?

What are some examples of activities carried out through VE?

What knowledge do children acquire apart from improving their language skills?

What forms can VE take?

What is different about the setting of a VE when compared to the traditional classroom?

How does Marleen define a VE?

You can reflect on these questions individually or discuss them with colleagues if this genial.ly is part of a course you are following.

Questions on Marleen's video

The E-LIVE team are great believers in Virtual Exchange (VE). We think it is a wonderful way to practise communication skills and acquire intercultural competences. But what do parents of children involved in VE think? Unsurprisingly, in the following videos the parents also view VE positively. We are sure they are sincere because parents always have the best interests of their children at heart .In the following slides you will see three videos involving parents. These are followed by a few questions on the videos and questions for you to reflect on or brainstorm with colleagues.

Videos featuring parents

• The parent videos are from the presentation “We learnt to communicate”: Takeaways from an English lingua franca primary school exchange. By Concepción González-Acedo & Aude Duvivier.

Videos featuring parents (cont.)

Click on the video to see what this French father says:

French father

Click on the video to see what this Spanish mother says:

Spanish mother (in Spanish with subtitles)

Click on the video to see what this Spanish mother says:

Spanish mother (speaking in English)

French father: VE is a fun way to learn, it puts the child in a real situation, it obliges the child to go beyond his/her limits, it gives them the opportunity to express themselves in front of a screen with kids who speak a different language1st Spanish mother: It was a way to learn about other cultures with children of the same age, they are able to practise different language skills, this experience enhances the social skills of the kids, VE is a window on the world that surrounds them2nd Spanish mother: her child was motivated and she described the project as like "travelling without a plane".

Before we ask you any questions, here is a summary of what the parents say

Summary of what the parents say

You can reflect on these questions individually or discuss them with colleagues if this genial.ly is part of a course you are following.

Did any of the parents' coincide regarding their comments?

The parents mentioned a series of positive aspects of VE. Did they mention any negative ones?

Which of the comments do you think would motivate you the most to carry out VE?

Questions on the parent's videos

You can reflect on these questions individually or discuss them with colleagues if this genial.ly is part of a course you are following.

Place yourself in the role of a parent. Imagine you’ve just been informed that your child will partake in a virtual exchange. What questions come to mind? What concerns would you have?

Reflections I

Look over each question and think how you could potentially respond as an educator. Describe how you’d reassure/answer parents.

A sample list of questions parents may ask could look like this:

You can reflect on these questions individually or discuss them with colleagues if this genial.ly is part of a course you are following.

- We’re often told to cut back on screen time for children. Why are screens being used in school? - The school has banned mobile phones? Why are we suddenly using technology in class? Will my child be sharing personal information (name, email address) with the platforms being used?

Reflections II

Learning Resources (I)

The E-LIVE page and the direct link to our Moodle page provide information on tools and resources that might help you to carry out VE. There are also many resources in the TILA YouTube channel and on the TeCoLa project websites. Click on the images to go there!

Added value

Challenges

Tasks

Project description

What learners enjoyed

Challenges

Tasks

General experience

Pilar Pellicer, the English primary school teacher who worked with Anna, talks about her experiences with the TeCoLa project.

Bart Pardoel talks about his experiences with the TeCoLa project

Learning Resources (II)

The following links will take you to videos linked to what the teachers have talked about:

Bart Pardoel's and Lotte Koenen's presentation on working with virtual worlds

Óscar Balseiro Mayi' presentation on his virtual exchange with primary school children

Learning Resources (III)

The following links will take you two presentations about VE by Bart Pardoel and Oscar Balseiro

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