A model of factors affecting independent learners’ engagement with feedback on language learning tasks

In independent learning contexts, the effectiveness of the feedback dialogue between student and tutor or, in the absence of a tutor, the quality of the learning materials, is essential to successful learning. Using the voices of participants as the prime source of data through a combination of data-driven and concept-driven approaches, this investigation attempts to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of the learning process as students express emotional reactions to the learning environment and in particular the written feedback from their tutors and the learning materials. To account for the different ways in which adult learners studying independently engage both cognitively and emotionally with external feedback, we propose a model based on four key drivers: goal relevance, knowledge, self-confidence, and roles. We conclude that only when these key drivers are aligned with each other can learners in independent settings engage with external feedback and learn from it

Impacts of directed tutorial activities in computer conferencing: a case study

This paper describes a qualitative study of asynchronous electronic conferencing by three tutorial groups on the same postgraduate course (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Worldwide), forming part of an MA in Applied Linguistics (via Distance Education) at the Open University, UK. The groups varied in the degree to which the tutor participated in the discussion and in whether the tutor's input took the form of responding to student posts or the setting of tasks to scaffold the learners' development of academic skills. It is argued that the least interventionist strategy in terms of tutor response and task-setting resulted in the least productive conference discussion in terms of both communicative interaction and academic development, while a more interventionist role by the tutor depended for its success on characteristics of the tutor input and the task set

Chapter 6: Culture and Ethics

The OTiS (Online Teaching in Scotland) programme, run by the now defunct Scotcit programme, ran an International e-Workshop on Developing Online Tutoring Skills which was held between 8–12 May 2000. It was organised by Heriot–Watt University, Edinburgh and The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. Out of this workshop came the seminal Online Tutoring E-Book, a generic primer on e-learning pedagogy and methodology, full of practical implementation guidelines. Although the Scotcit programme ended some years ago, the E-Book has been copied to the SONET site as a series of PDF files, which are now available via the ALT Open Access Repository. The editor, Carol Higgison, is currently working in e-learning at the University of Bradford (see her staff profile) and is the Chair of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT)

Distance language learners and learner support: beliefs, difficulties and use of strategies

Evidence is mounting from a number of studies undertaken with groups of learners of all ages and all abilities that there is a particular factor common to successful language learners: strategic competence involving the use of appropriate learning strategies. The growing body of research into this area has not, however, had much to say so far about the special situation of those learning a language at a distance. Based on the findings of surveys and discussions carried out with students enrolled in the final year of the Diploma in French at the Open University, this paper investigates learner beliefs about learning a language at a distance, difficulties encountered, attitudes to learner support and the use of strategies. It concludes that metacognitive strategies may have an enhanced role for the learner of a language at a distance, but that further research is needed to determine more clearly the nature of this role, how metacognitive strategies relate to learner variables and the specific implications for learner autonomy, tutor support and course design

Motivation and Beliefs in Distance Language Learning: The Case of English Learners at RTVU, an Open University in China

To date, research into the role of affective variables in language learning has been conducted almost exclusively with learners in the classroom. However, the steady increase in the numbers of distance language learners worldwide calls for the research agenda to be extended to include this group of learners, given the specific characteristics and demands that learning at a distance places on its participants. This article reports on motivation and beliefs in the distance learning and teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) at Shantou Radio and TV University (SRTVU) in China, a strand of a wider study investigating affect which replicated Hurd’s (2006, 2007a, 2007b) study conducted with distance French learners at the Open University (OUUK). As indicated in the findings, interest in English was top of the list of motivating factors, while workload and assessment content/difficulty were identified as the most demotivating factors. Of all the reported ways to stay motivated, positive self-talk was the most popular. The study also reveals that the beliefs held by Chinese students about their ‘ought self’ do not reflect perceptions of their ‘actual self’ as distance language learners. The article concludes that matters such as course workload, assessment content/difficulty, and course design need to be re-evaluated in the light of the study’s findings, and that it is crucial to provide learner support in order to help reduce the gap between the ‘ought self’ and the ‘actual self’

Supporting learner autonomy: theory and practice in a distance learning context

There is overwhelming consensus among language learning researchers on the benefits of developing an autonomous approach by learners (Hurd et al. 2001, p344). Despite the difficulty in defining what Little (2004) describes as a "problematic term" and a "slippery concept", he suggests there is also broad agreement on what this means. Autonomous learners "understand the purpose of their learning programme, explicitly accept responsibility for their learning, share in the setting of goals, take initiatives in planning and executing learning and evaluate its effectiveness" (Little 2004). However, it is also argued (e.g. by Candy 1991; Little 1995) that the achievement of learner autonomy depends on the willingness of teachers to hand over these responsibilities. Teachers must be committed to creating a learning environment where learners can gradually "learn how to learn" and experience autonomy in order to become more autonomous, a process which Little (2004) calls "autonomisation". In distance learning, much of the responsibility for autonomisation rests with the teaching/learning materials. However, these materials are often mediated and supported by tutors who can use their contact with learners to develop learning skills. This chapter explores the tutor role in autonomisation in a distance language learning programme of The Open University in the UK (OU(UK))

Communication technologies and education: Lessons in the potential of innovation

The evaluation of initiatives in using new forms of technology to enhance teaching and learning will raise awareness of the need for a structured and principled approach to the introduction of innovative methods. This paper addresses the pedagogical potential of communication technology for curricular development in schools, initial teacher education and continuing professional development. It establishes principles of practice based on activities undertaken within a national project involving schools and higher‐education institutions

Exploring the link between language anxiety and learner self-management in open language learning contexts

The Department of Languages at the Open University/UK was set up in 1991 and presented its first course in French for lower intermediate learners[1] in 1995. Intensive course production over a number of years has resulted in a portfolio of courses from beginner to degree level in French, German and Spanish. Language learning resources are varied and include print, video and audio materials as well as ICT components such as, for example, course websites. All students are individually assigned a tutor who advises on learning, marks coursework and holds tutorials. Until recently all tutorials took place face-to-face in the Open University's regional centres throughout the UK and Continental Western Europe, but since 2002 tutorials for some courses have been conducted online using Lyceum, an Internet-based conferencing system originally developed by the university's Knowledge Media Institute which provides multiple synchronous audio channels as well as synchronous text chat and several shared graphic interfaces (for a more detailed description of the tool see Hauck & Hampel, 2005). As a result of the continuing success of this tutorial mode the Department of Languages now offers a choice of face-to-face or Lyceum-based tuition to all students. This paper seeks to enhance our understanding of the interrelationship between affective issues, language anxiety in particular, and successful learner self-management in these learning environments. The findings are based on two phenomenographic studies, with the first one on language anxiety prompting the second one which explores the role of successful learner self-management. After some background information about the Open University's approach to distance education in general and the Department of Languages' approach to teaching languages at a distance in particular, this article looks at the theory underpinning the phenomena of language anxiety and learner self-management. This is followed by a presentation of the aforementioned studies, a discussion of their results and some preliminary conclusions

Teachers as Theorists

This paper addresses the tensions that exist between policy-makers and practitioners about what learning and teaching should really be about. It adds to the collective reflection on what learning is about and how we should never stop engaging in reflection about it in an active, revolving and changing manner. Similarities between second language learning and generic learning intersperse the reflective account as the author looks through the lenses of her own disciplines of Linguistics and English as a Second Language. The reflection digs deep into the emotions of a critical pedagogue and is finally channelled into a ‘pedagogy of hope’ for a better future

E-Learning for Teachers and Trainers : Innovative Practices, Skills and Competences

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