Authoring a Web‐enhanced interface for a new language‐learning environment

This paper presents conceptual considerations underpinning a design process set up to develop an applicable and usable interface as well as defining parameters for a new and versatile Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment. Based on a multidisciplinary expertise combining Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Web‐based Java programming, CALL authoring and language teaching expertise, it strives to generate new CALL‐enhanced curriculum developments in language learning. The originality of the approach rests on its design rationale established on the strength of previously identified student requirements and authoring needs identifying inherent design weaknesses and interactive limitations of existing hypermedia CALL applications (Hémard, 1998). At the student level, the emphasis is placed on three important design decisions related to the design of the interface, student interaction and usability. Thus, particular attention is given to design considerations focusing on the need to (a) develop a readily recognizable, professionally robust and intuitive interface, (b) provide a student‐controlled navigational space based on a mixed learning environment approach, and (c) promote a flexible, network‐based, access mode reconciling classroom with open access exploitations. At the author level, design considerations are essentially orientated towards adaptability and flexibility with the integration of authoring facilities, requiring no specific authoring skills, to cater for and support the need for a flexible approach adaptable to specific language‐learning environments. This paper elaborates on these conceptual considerations within the design process with particular emphasis on the adopted principled methodology and resulting design decisions and solutions

Scoping a vision for formative e-assessment: a project report for JISC

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. If the relationship between teaching and learning were causal, i. e. if students always mastered the intended learning outcomes of a particular sequence of instruction, assessment would be superfluous. Experience and research suggest this is not the case: what is learnt can often be quite different from what is taught. Formative assessment is motivated by a concern with the elicitation of relevant information about student understanding and / or achievement, its interpretation and an exploration of how it can lead to actions that result in better learning. In the context of a policy drive towards technology-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning, the question of the role of digital technologies is key and it is the latter on which this project particularly focuses. The project and its deliverables have been informed by recent and relevant literature, in particular recent work by Black andIn this work, they put forward a framework which suggests that assessment for learning their term for formative assessment can be conceptualised as consisting of a number of aspects and five keystrategies. The key aspects revolve around the where the learner is going, where the learner is right now and how she can get there and examines the role played by the teacher, peers and the learner. Language: English Keywords: assessments, case studies, design patterns, e-assessmen

Beyond classroom walls: The role of a co-curricular English club in supporting second language learning

Second language learners of English in South Africa and beyond face challenges. As a high school teacher of English, I have explored activities that could empower learners in their efforts to learn the language. This paper considers an activity on a beach where learners’ well-being was foregrounded, and classroom constraints were reduced. The activity, underpinned by a critical paradigm, qualitative approach and action research design, aimed to answer the question, how may learners’ attitudes towards spelling be enhanced by an activity outside the classroom? Observations, fieldnotes and reflections revealed that learners are able to transcend their fear of the language in a relaxed environment, they value the learning process when their interests are considered, and when rewarded, their self-confidence increases enabling them to participate in activities for which they initially showed reluctance. This paper therefore argues for the use of alternative teaching methods to complement conventional teaching and assessment methods. Keywords: second language learners, empowerment, relaxed environmen

Towards a learning path specification

Janssen, J., Berlanga, A., Vogten, H., & Koper, R. (2008). Towards a learning path specification. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning, 18(1), 77–97.Flexible lifelong learning requires comparability and exchangeability of courses, programmes and other types of learning actions both in a national and international context. This paper argues that in order to achieve comparability and exchangeability a uniform and meaningful way to describe learning paths towards attainment of learning outcomes is needed. The paper identifies the requirements for a learning path specification drawing on a study of literature in the field of curriculum design and lifelong learning, and lessons learned from recent initiatives which aimed to enhance comparability and exchangeability of learning actions. Two existing specifications designed to describe learning programmes, XCRI and IMS-LD, are investigated to see whether they can fulfil the identified requirements. The fact that IMS-LD has a generic way to define completion of learning paths and its constituent parts as well as an expression language to describe all kinds of conditions make IMS-LD a more likely candidate. A learning path model is presented identifying the main elements of a learning path specification and mapping them onto IMS-LD.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

Designing an Arabic speaking and listening skills e-course: resources, activities and students’ perceptions

his paper presents a fully online course model for teaching speaking and listening skills for students learning Arabic as a foreign language at the International Peace College South Africa on the NEO learning management platform. It also investigates the students' attitudes towards the course. The course was developed by the researcher during the first semester of 2020. This period coincided with South Africa’s first wave of COVID-19, and the country’s first strict lockdown. The syllabus consists of three components: Listening, speaking and conversational Arabic. It includes various technology-enhanced activities and resources which were developed by using LMS features, Web 2.0 tools, and e-learning specifications such as Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) and Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). The integration of technology in the course is based on an approach that combines Bloom's taxonomy and Technology Integration Matrix (TIM). Apart from the description of the course, this study used a thirty-item questionnaire to investigate the attitudes of thirty-one learners who participated in the course. They answered questions about the course’s resources, activities as well as its impact on their language skills. Results from the questionnaire revealed that the respondents' attitudes towards the online course were positive and statistically significant at p <.05. The design and the approach adopted in this study can apply to any context of language teaching. It provides a myriad of technology-enhanced activities that can be effectively used to teach listening and speaking skills virtually. Foreign language teachers can adopt this approach in its entirety, or with idiosyncratic modifications to design their language courses, irrespective of the virtual learning ecology (VLE) they use

English Language MOOCs in China: Learners’ Perspective

[EN] In the wake of rapid development of Language MOOCs (LMOOCs), numerous studies have proposed principles and guidelines to inform curriculum design. Very few of them have, however, reported on learners’ views. This study aims to contribute to this line of research by bringing in a learners’ perspective. It is based on a content analysis of 3,510 learner reviews on 41 English LMOOCs offered by a national MOOC provider in China. It focuses on Chinese EFL learners’ views of LMOOCs.  The results indicate that their views pertain mainly to seven categories: (1) content design of course videos, (2) presentation design of course videos, (3) MOOC program instructors, (4) assessments and assignments, (5) course settings, (6) forum discussions, and (7) technological environment, of which the first three are of the most importance to the learners. It is argued that Chinese EFL learners’ perception of English LMOOCs might be rooted in their engagement pattern with the courses, their perceptions of the role of teachers, the design of existing English LMOOCs, and a preference for the traditional way of foreign language teaching and learning they are acquainted with before engaging with the LMOOCs. The context-specific evidence could be used as an empirical base to guide future design of LMOOCs for foreign language learning in China.Ding, Y.; Shen, H. (2020). English Language MOOCs in China: Learners’ Perspective. The EuroCALL Review. 28(2):13-22. https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2020.13090OJS1322282Bárcena, E., & Martín-Monje, E. (2014). Introduction. Language MOOCs: an emerging field. In E. Martin-Monje. & E. Bárcena. (Eds.), Language MOOCs: Providing learning, transcending boundaries (pp.1-15). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.2478/9783110420067.1Beirne, E., Mhichíl, M. N. G., & Cleircín, G. (2017). LMOOCs, classifying design: survey findings from LMOOC providers. In K. Borthwick, L. Bradley, & S. Thouësny. (Eds.), CALL in a climate of change: Adapting to turbulent global conditions-Short papers from EUROCALL 2017 (pp.30-34). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2017.eurocall2017.684Breslow, L., Pritchard, D. E., de Boer, J., Stump, G. S., Ho, A. D., & Seaton, D. T. (2013). Studying learning in the worldwide classroom: Research into edX's first MOOC. Research and Practice in Assessment, 8(1), 13-25.Cai, J. G. (2017). Challenges of foreign language teaching in colleges: Analysis of Guidelines on College English Teaching. Foreign Language Teaching, 38(1), 6-10.Carlos, A. M. F., Verónica, E. C. R., & Guerrero, J. S. (2017). BLMOOCs, a proposal for the design of language MOOCs in a blended context. In L. Terán. & A. Meier. (Eds.), Proceedings of the fourth international conference on edemocracy and egovernment (pp. 265-268). IEEE.Colpaert, J. (2014). Reflections on present and future: towards an ontological approach to LMOOCs. In E. Martin-Monje. & E. Bárcena. (Eds.), Language MOOCs: Providing learning, transcending boundaries (pp. 161-172). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Ding, Y. (2019). What constitutes an effective instructional video: Perspectives from Chinese EFL learners. In B. Zou & T. Michael. (Eds.), Recent developments in technology-enhanced and computer-assisted language learning (pp.236-256). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1282-1.ch011Drake, J. R., O'Hara, M., Seeman, E. (2015). Five principles for MOOC design: With a case study. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 14, 125-143. https://doi.org/10.28945/2250Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62, 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.xFontana, M., & Leffa, V. (2018). MOOCs for language teaching: A study on CALL from the connectivist perspective. Alfa: Revista de Linguistica, 62(1), 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-5794-1804-4Gimeno-Sanz, A. (2017). Designing a MOOC for learners of Spanish: exploring learner usage and satisfaction. In K. Borthwick, L. Bradley & S. Thouësny. (Eds.), CALL in a climate of change: Adapting to turbulent global conditions-Short papers from EUROCALL 2017 (pp.122-127). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2017.eurocall2017.700Hew, F. K. (2016). Promoting engagement in online courses: what strategies can we learn from three highly rated MOOCs. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(2), 320-341. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12235Ho, J., & Crookall, D. (1995). Breaking with Chinese cultural traditions: Learner autonomy in English language teaching. System, 23(2), 235-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(95)00011-8Khalil, M., Brunner, H., & Ebner, M. (2015). Evaluation grid for xMOOCs. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 10(4), 40-45. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v10i4.4653Han, Y. (2019). Reflections on the MOOCs construction in China and applicability of MOOCs in foreign language courses. Technology Enhanced Foreign Languages, 189, 34-38.Luo, R. (2017). Modes of autonomous foreign language learning in the Internet environment-A survey of language MOOCs in Chinese and American MOOC platforms. Foreign Language World, 6, 29-36.Luo, S. (2016). Autonomous foreign language learning model under MOOCs environment. Modern Educational Technology, 1, 87-93.Martín-Monje, E., Castrillo, M. D., & Mañana-Rodríguez, J. (2018). Understanding online interaction in language MOOCs through learning analytics. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31(3), 251-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2017.1378237Peng, X., & Xu, Q. (2020). Investigating learners' behaviors and discourse content in MOOC course reviews. Computer and Education, 143, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103673Perifanou, M. (2016). Designing strategies for an efficient language MOOC. In S. Papadima-Sophocleous, L. Bradley & S. Thouësny. (eds.), CALL communities and culture - short papers from EUROCALL 2016 (pp. 380-385). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2016.eurocall2016.592Read, T. (2014). The architectonics of language MOOCs? In E. Martin-Monje & E. Bárcena. (Eds.), Language MOOCs: Providing learning, transcending boundaries (pp. 91-105). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. (1994). The post Confucian confusion. Research Report No. 37. Department of English, City Polytechnic of Hong Kong.Shen. H., Yuan, Y., & Ewing, R. (2014). English learning websites and digital resources from the perspective of Chinese university EFL practitioners. ReCALL, 27(2), 156-176. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344014000263Sokolik, M. (2014). What constitutes an effective language MOOC? In E. Martin-Monje & E. Bárcena. (Eds.), Language MOOCs: Providing learning, transcending boundaries (pp. 16-32). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Teixeira, A. M., & Mota, J. (2014). A proposal for the methodological design of collaborative language MOOCs. In E. Martin-Monje & E. Bárcena. (Eds.), Language MOOCs: Providing learning, transcending boundaries (pp. 33-47). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Wang-Szilas, J., & Bellassen, J. (2017). Dualism-based design of the Introductory Chinese MOOC 'Kit de contact en langue chinoise'. In K. Qian & S. Bax. (Eds.), Beyond the language classroom: Researching MOOCs and other innovations (pp. 43-58). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2017.mooc2016.670Zhong, Y., & Shen, H. (2002). Where is the technology-induced pedagogy? Snapshots from two multimedia EFL classrooms. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(1), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8535.0023

Introducing ICT to teachers of an institution-wide language programme: principal considerations

This article sets out to introduce some principal pedagogical considerations which influenced the design and delivery of a teacher training project for an institution-wide language programme. A training programme was developed which argues for the necessity of a theoretical framework in which e-learning can take place, as well as introducing different forms of e-learning and their evaluation in context. Some of the cornerstones of the programme delivery are introduced and discussed

Design approaches in technology enhanced learning

Design is a critical to the successful development of any interactive learning environment (ILE). Moreover, in technology enhanced learning (TEL), the design process requires input from many diverse areas of expertise. As such, anyone undertaking tool development is required to directly address the design challenge from multiple perspectives. We provide a motivation and rationale for design approaches for learning technologies that draws upon Simon's seminal proposition of Design Science (Simon, 1969). We then review the application of Design Experiments (Brown, 1992) and Design Patterns (Alexander et al., 1977) and argue that a patterns approach has the potential to address many of the critical challenges faced by learning technologists

Towards a learning path specification

Janssen, J., Berlanga, A., Vogten, H. and Koper, R. (2007). Towards a learning path specification. Proceedings of the ePortfolio 2007 Conference. October, 17-19, 2007, Maastricht, The Netherlands. [See also http://hdl.handle.net/1820/1680 ]Flexible lifelong learning requires comparability and exchangeability of courses, programmes and other types of learning actions both in a national and international context. To this end a uniform and meaningful way to describe learning paths is needed. This paper identifies the requirements for a learning path specification drawing on a study of literature in the field of curriculum design and lifelong learning, and on recent initiatives aimed to enhance comparability and exchangeability of learning actions. Mapping these requirements on two existing specifications designed to describe learning programmes, XCRI and IMS-LD, leads to the conclusion that IMS-LD more broadly fulfils the requirements because it has a generic way to define completion of learning paths as well as an expression language to describe all kinds of conditions. A learning path model is presented identifying the main elements of a learning path specification.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org