LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH TO BUILDING LEXICAL COMPETENCE IN SPEAKING FOR PROSPECTIVE EXPERTS OF HOSPITALITY AND RESTAURANT SERVICE

The article deals with the learner-centered approach to building lexical competence in speaking for prospective experts of hospitality and restaurant service. According to modern methodical principles the main aspect of teaching foreign languages are made on a learner-centered approach. Activities often create a sense of community within the class. The such as meeting the guest in the restaurant, showing the guest to the table, taking an order, dealing with complaints are held. From the analysis, it was concluded that learner-centered approach that developed the speaking skill through the realization of meaningful and authentic tasks.The article deals with the learner-centered approach to building lexical competence in speaking for prospective experts of hospitality and restaurant service. According to modern methodical principles the main aspect of teaching foreign languages are made on a learner-centered approach. Activities often create a sense of community within the class. The such as meeting the guest in the restaurant, showing the guest to the table, taking an order, dealing with complaints are held. From the analysis, it was concluded that learner-centered approach that developed the speaking skill through the realization of meaningful and authentic tasks

Promoting autonomous work of students with the MILAGE Learn+ app

In this paper, we present the MILAGE Learn+ app, developed for smartphones and tablets in order to promote autonomous work of students in the process of learning mathematics. With this app students solve mathematics activities and get help by playing videos with problem resolutions. Autonomous learning and effective self-regulatory strategies are very important in learning; without these, students might not be able to exploit learning opportunities outside classrooms. For that, an important way of supporting learning autonomy is to promote student-centered learning approaches. Students can use mobile devices to implement a blended learning model and use the MILAGE Learn+ app that allows the implementation of student-centered learning approaches involving students with different skills. For this purpose, the app accommodates gaming mechanics dealing with complexity and detail. It has three different levels of problems complexity: beginners, intermediate and advanced. On the other hand, each problem can have two levels of explanations/resolutions: detailed and concise. These features provide the same opportunities to all students. So, low-achieving students that may struggle to learn the materials covered in class can watch the video resolution as many times as they want until they understand the subject. But students have also access to complex maths problems that may provide additional stimulation for top performers. In this way, we provide a platform where students can work autonomously, and the app is also capable of accommodating students with different mathematic skills.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technology and task-based language teaching (TBLT): Exploring pragmatics

This paper focuses on the teaching of pragmatics in English as a Foreign Language classroom and how the traditional way of teaching languages can be challenged. It also aims to highlight the importance of incorporating computer-assisted activities as well as other resources that can be introduced into the classrooms in order to teach pragmatics. Taking into account insights from Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, a teaching proposal is provided to see a great variety of activities and tools that teachers can use in order to keep their students motivated and engaged with language with the main focus on pragmatics. A series of lessons was developed to help 10 and 11-year-old English language learners achieve pragmatic fluency in apologizing. Fifteen students participated in an after-school action research test of the lessons. They enjoyed the learning activities and demonstrated newly-acquired skills. Results from this study reveal that action research is a valuable way to increase teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of how pragmatics is learners in instructional settings

Selection Criteria for Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Video Games for Language Learning

This article addresses criteria for choosing commercial off-the-shelf(COTS) games and their implementation in the classroom and other L2learning environments. The proposal and discussion of a set of suchcriteria, which include the categories of motivation and flow, clearlydefined and spaced goals, game skills and game mechanics, content,story and narrative, multimodality, agency, course integration andscaffolding, and financial, technical, and administrative considerationsare the focus of this article. This discussion is followed by the analysesof three examples of COTS games (Buzz, Heavy Rain, and SingStar)which may be suitable in a L2 learning context

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND LEARNING PROCESSES. THE ETERNAL GOLDEN GARLAND

none1noBeyond any possible rhetorical division between those who are for or against a more or less massive use of technologies, it is undeniable that technologies always have effects on cognitive, relational, and autonomy processes of individuals, in every season of life and by virtue of the quantity and quality of the use to which we are exposed. The experience of the pandemic caused by Covid19 definitely amplified and highlighted this fact, making the advantages and disadvantages of online life, to which many were forced, immediately apparent. The data on the learning process, in particular on the exclusions that online education has generated, is evident, although very patchy. The difference was determined by the technological skills of learners and teachers, by the possibilities of access to appropriate infrastructures and devices, and by the style of conducting teaching. With regard to this last point, pre-Covid teaching methods were an important factor: digital teaching has often amplified, for better or for worse, what was already being done in the traditional way, with the evidence, however, that some changes that were less evident in frontal teaching were urgent in mediated teaching. The speed of the lesson, for example, the didactic rhythm, the anchorage to the concrete and the levels of personalization were some of the conditions that compromised the success of online training. Technological teaching has also concerned the population of pupils in difficult, disabled, and disadvantaged situations, for whom the impact with the ICT world has been accompanied, as research has shown, by other risk factors (Ianes, 2020), again linked mainly to pre-Covid elements, and referring above all too experienced integration, practiced as a cultural model for schools or as a routine afterthought. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, recognizes new technologies as an essential contextual element for the promotion of the person's functioning, becoming tools capable of compensating for deficits, facilitating independent living, or, conversely, an obstacle and depriving environment/tool. For this reason, they find a specific place within the Environmental Factors of the ICF (WHO, 2001) and the assessment that must be made of them in view of individualized educational planning. International research (Woodward et al .,2001) based on evidence that tries to define what works in the ICT world for children with special educational needs, taking into account a plurality of variables, amount and type of feedback, practical experience, evaluation systems, motivation, teaching strategies - comes to the conclusion that the fact that software has been validated on the research level, does not guarantee that it works in practice (ibid., p. 21). The contribute aims to go in this direction and intends to provide some general reference criteria for evaluating and choosing technological opportunities.Pinnelli StefaniaPinnelli, Stefani

Exploring How Older Adults Who Qualify for the Association on Aging with Developmental Disabilities (AADD) Programs and Services Learn to Successfully Age in Place

This qualitative case study explored the ways in which older adults with developmental disabilities (DD) learn to successfully age in place. As more persons with DD reach old age and outlive their natural caretakers, such as parents, it is becoming apparent that there are a multitude of age-related challenges and educational needs that must be addressed. However, information pertaining to the unique learning needs of older adults with DD is scarce. Andragogy (the art and science of teaching adults) and geragogy (teaching the elderly) provided the theoretical frameworks for this study. The main research question in this study was: How are older adults with DD unique adult learners? To answer this question, the primary investigator (PI) conducted a qualitative study exploring the ways in which older adults enrolled in the Association on Aging with Developmental Disabilities (AADD) programs and services for seniors learned to successfully age in place. The PI conducted observations, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and an email questionnaire with a sample of AADD program participants, staff, and board members. Verbatim transcriptions of the interviews and focus group sessions were analyzed using open and axial coding methods. The following 11 themes emerged from the data: respect and equality, individualization, humor and fun, age-related learning challenges, social support, accumulation of loss, active aging and health maintenance, independence and autonomy, identity, attitudes towards those aging with DD, and learning strategies. The results provided evidence of the application of andragogy in meeting the unique learning needs of older adults with DD, as well as the premise that independent learning leads to independent living. Participants stressed the need for learning to be highly individualized iii and fun. The importance of strong social support systems to help offset myriad age related challenges faced by older adults with DD were also evidenced. Further exploration of educational programs designed to address emerging learning needs of those aging with DD, such as reverse caregiving roles (e.g., assuming the responsibility of primary caregiver for an elderly parent), as well as the application of andragogy to other aging with DD programs and services is warranted

Reshaping the Museum of Zoology in Rome by Visual Storytelling and Interactive Iconography

This article summarizes the concept of a new immersive and interactive setting for the Zoology Museum in Rome, Italy. The concept, co-designed with all the museum’s curators, is aimed at enhancing the experiential involvement of the visitors by visual storytelling and interactive iconography. Thanks to immersive and interactive technologies designed by Centro Studi Logos, developed by Logosnet and known as e-REALâ and MirrorMeä, zoological findings and memoirs come to life and interact directly with the visitors in order to deepen their understanding, visualize stories and live experiences, and interact with the founder of the Museum (Mr. Arrigoni degli Oddi) who is now a virtualized avatar, or digital human, able to talk with the visitors. All the interactions are powered through simple hand gestures and, in a few cases, vocal inputs that transform into recognized commands from multimedia systems

Gamification as a Methodological Complement to Flipped Learning—An Incident Factor in Learning Improvement

Educational innovation is a reality that is present in learning spaces. The use of emerging methodologies such as gamification and flipped learning has shown great potential in improving the teaching and learning process. This study aims to analyze the e ectiveness of innovative mixed practices, combining gamification and flipped learning in the subject of Spanish Language and Literature against the isolated use of flipped learning. For this, a quasi-experimental design of descriptive and correlational type, based on a quantitative methodology has been carried out. For its development, two study groups (control-experimental) have been set up. The selected sample is of an intentional nature and was composed of 60 students of the fourth year of Secondary Education of an educational center in Southern Spain. The data has been collected through a validated questionnaire. The results determine that the complement of gamification in flipped learning has led to improvements in various academic indicators. It is concluded that the development of gamified actions in the face-to-face phase of flipped learning improves the motivation, interaction with teachers, and interactions of students

Intelligent Mobile Learning Interaction System (IMLIS): A Personalized Learning System for People with Mental Disabilities

The domain of learning context for people with special needs is a big challenge for digi- tal media in education. This thesis describes the main ideas and the architecture of a system called Intelligent Mobile Learning Interaction System (IMLIS) that provides a mobile learning environment for people with mental disabilities. The design of IMLIS aims to enhance personalization aspects by using a decision engine, which makes deci- sions based on the user s abilities, learning history and reactions to processes. It allows for adaptation, adjustment and personalization of content, learning activities, and the user interface on different levels in a context where learners and teachers are targeting autonomous learning by personalized lessons and feedback. Due to IMLIS dynamic structure and flexible patterns, it is able to meet the specific needs of individuals and to engage them in learning activities with new learning motivations. In addition to support- ing learning material and educational aspects, mobile learning fosters learning across context and provides more social communication and collaboration for its users. The suggested methodology defines a comprehensive learning process for the mentally disabled to support them in formal and informal learning. We apply knowledge from the field of research and practice to people with mental disabilities, as well as discuss the pedagogical and didactical aspects of the design