THE IMPACT OF THE WIKI-ENHANCED TBLT APPROACH ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL IN A BOYS’ PUBLIC SCHOOL IN AL AIN, UAE

This study investigated the impact of the wiki-enhanced task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach on students’ writing skill in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, it explored the students’ and teacher’s views and perceptions toward the implementation of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. The study data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively from two classrooms in a public high school in the UAE, which consisted of 30 students. The quantitative data were collected via a pretest–posttest design from the two assigned groups of students: the control and experimental groups. The qualitative data were collected via a survey of the students and a semi-structured interview with the teacher. The study was conducted during a whole academic semester. The findings of the study show that implementing the wiki-enhanced TBLT technique considerably improves EFL learners’ writing skills in relation to the four language components examined in this study: syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, fluency, and lexical complexity. In addition, the students enjoyed working together on writing tasks using the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. Their responses showed that the TBLT approach encourages better performance in collaborative writing tasks and classroom engagement. Moreover, the classroom teachers indicated that the implementation of this approach played a significant role in promoting students’ performance, communication, collaboration, and engagement in the target language (English) in the experimental group. Furthermore, the findings showed that students can construct new knowledge with the aid of their peers, thereby improving their capacity to devise and discuss original ideas. As students can practice collaborative writing while at home, the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach is beneficial for online learning. Adopting this approach increased students’ participation in class because they were more comfortable working together while using technology, improving the quality of their writing and assignments. Several theoretical and pedagogical implications regarding the implementation of this approach have been drawn. The first theoretical implication of this study is that the wiki approach supports previous efforts to move the socio constructivist perspective of learning from the spoken discourse to the written discourse. The second theoretical implication is that it provides support to Chapelle\u27s framework (2003) where learning should be focused on tasks that require the use of the target language. Learning should take place in meaningful and real-life contexts, and instruction should be tailored to the individual needs of the learner. The third theoretical implication is that his study is the first to be conducted in the Gulf region, especially in the UAE. Regarding the pedagogical implications of the TBLT approach, the first pedagogical implication is that teachers need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach a standard and favored classroom strategy. The second pedagogical implication is that the wiki approach can be used by teachers as a teaching strategy to promote students’ participation and engagement and create a friendly social environment in the L2 classroom. The third pedagogical implication is that technology has proved to be integral in the classroom in teaching and learning the target language. The fourth pedagogical implication is for course designers who need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach as part of the curriculum. Based on these findings, future research can consider examining the effect of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach on EFL learners’ writing skill at different levels, such as primary, college, or university students. Future research might also investigate the effect of Google Docs–based TBLT approach on developing students’ writing skill and explore students’ perceptions toward using this approach

Teaching MBA Students the Use of Web2.0: The Knowledge Management Perspective

The new concepts and technologies of Web 2.0 attract researches in a variety of fields including education, business and knowledge management. However, while the Web 2.0 potential in the education discipline has been widely studied, in the management discipline the Web 2.0 business value has not been fully acknowledged. This research suggests an approach for teaching Web 2.0 concepts in a Knowledge Management (KM) course for MBA students, introducing the Web 2.0 potential within business context. The paper describes MBA students’ perceptions and attitudes regarding Web 2.0 concepts and how they evolved while being engaged in Web 2.0 practices. The findings indicate that most of the students were only partly aware of the Web 2.0 environments benefits at first, especially within organizational context. Moreover, for some of them, participating in the course’s social website required overcoming personal barriers. During the course, students gained new perspectives of the Web 2.0 phenomenon beyond its technological merits. Most of them acknowledged the potential of Web 2.0 within organizational context and embedded Web 2.0 principles in their KM final projects

Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

A case study of collaborative learning among preparatory year students and their teachers at Hail University in Saudi Arabia

The concept of collaborative learning (CL) relates to the educational use of small groups, in which students work together to maximise their learning and to teach and learn from each other as much as possible, after receiving guidelines and instructions from their teachers. Collaborative learning in Saudi higher education (SHE) has been promoted at the government level in recent years as part of a trend to increase the adoption of e-learning. The policy also aligns with educational reforms and the drive to make the Saudi economy more competitive and diverse. Nevertheless, it is still enforcing itself to become a norm in the teaching and learning process as it is a radical shift from the traditional centralised decision making in educational settings and teacher-centred teaching, which indicate a high power distance structure. Therefore, this study investigates the perceptions of preparatory year students and teachers at Hail University regarding the implementation of CL. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Data were gathered from observations, six focus groups (composed of five students in each group) and individual interviews with 12 teachers on the foundation year. The findings of this study indicated two modalities for deploying CL: traditional CL (TCL/non-computer- supported collaborative learning [CSCL]) and computer-supported CL (CSCL) in Saudi higher Education. Furthermore, the results showed that CL indeed provides personal, social, and academic benefits. It is still, however, marred by challenges such that effective implementation is curtailed and thus does not produce positive learning outcomes among students. Overall, given the cultural background, the preference for retaining a high power distance, and what teachers and students are accustomed to, the study suggests further research be conducted to implement an form of CL adapted to suit Saudi culture

The influence of new technologies in foreign language learning

The new technologies have become part of our societies especially in the so-called developed countries and it is hard to conceive our daily routines without them. This paper explores the use of new technologies in foreign language teaching and learning, in this case, English. In particular, the aim of this paper is to show the effects of new technologies in the process of English teaching and learning by using different tools, such as, students’ own computers, wikis, blogs, social networks and videos. In order to do so, I have organized this paper into two parts. First, I provide a characterization of new technologies and provide a selection of the main tools used in the classroom. The educational benefits and drawbacks of four main groups of tools are discussed: computers, the Web 2.0 (blogs, wikis, social networks, YouTube and videos), the interactive white board and electronic dictionaries. The second part of the paper presents a practical case study in which the use of the new technologies at a small school in Bergara (in the Basque Autonomous Community) is researched and reported on. The study includes an interview with the English teacher, a questionnaire on the use of these technologies which was filled out by 51 students and a report on 4 weeks of class observations I conducted. Two are the main research questions that will be addressed: (i) are the new technologies useful for foreign language teachers and foreign language learning?, (ii) do children find the use of technologies in their foreign language classroom useful? The main conclusion is that most of the students and the teacher like working with the new technologies and that they are helpful to learn a foreign language, despite a few disadvantages. Finally, in the last part of the paper I relate the theoretical part and the practical part of the paper in the conclusions

The Effect of Computer-mediated Communication Tools in Online Setting on Iranian EFL Learners’ Teaching, Social and Cognitive Existence

This study was conducted to explore the effect of computer-mediated communication tools in online setting on Iranian EFL learners’ teaching, social and cognitive existence. The population of the study included 60 English Language Teaching students (B.A) of Zanjan Islamic Azad University using convenient sampling method. Experimental group included half of the participants (n=30) and other half of the participants (n=30) was assigned to control group. As a pretest, participants were asked to fill in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) questionnaire in both experimental and control groups. The learners in the experimental group were taught through electronic mail and chat and the assignments and homework were sent to the learners by E-mail. The teachers asked the learners to answer the questions and send the fulfilled assignments in the telegram group. The learners in the control group were taught conventionally. After the treatment, the questionnaire was re-administered among the learners in the both groups as posttest. The learners who received synchronous online communication tools, compared to the respondents who received no treatment, gained higher mean scores on social, teaching and cognitive presence. The findings of the present study can have implications for ESL/EFL contexts from several aspects