Developing metaphoric competence through schemata-building for English learners in Japan

The purpose of this project is to propose teaching methods that facilitate the development of English vocabulary knowledge and metaphorical concepts for students in Japan

An ecological perspective on language learning beyond the classroom in a challenging environment: a study of learners' experiences, beliefs and autonomy

This research explores the complexity of experiences of learning English beyond the classroom in a challenging Algerian setting. Language learning has two dimensions, inside the classroom and beyond the classroom. Studies on language learning beyond the classroom are relatively scarce, in part because this dimension is to some extent hidden (Benson, 2011a). Furthermore, in the Algerian setting, studies about language learning and aspects such as autonomy are mostly classroom-based and dependent on teachers’ perspectives. This calls for more LBC studies, which are contextually appropriate and primarily based on the learners’ personal understandings of their learning experiences. This will provide insights that can contribute to triggering change that is fit for the learners, their circumstances and their needs. Adopting an ecological and person-in-context view, this study taps into the learning beyond the classroom (LBC) experiences of six Algerian learners in a challenging environment. It aims to explore the relationship between the learners and the environment. More specifically, it explores the influence of this environment on the nature of the learners’ experience, their perceptions of learning affordances and their exercise of autonomy beyond the classroom through different activities. The study utilises a qualitative study design that draws from narrative inquiry to elicit learner perspectives on the LBC experience. It is based on language learning histories (LLHs) written by the participants in the study, which were followed by a set of semi-structured interviews customised for each participant based on their LLHs. Data collection was concluded with a focus group which discussed the shared and contested views on LBC experiences in their environment. The findings suggest that the experiences of learning English beyond the classroom were characterised by persistence and creativity. The environment presented several challenges (e.g., the community’s negative attitude to foreign language use, and the low status of English) and few opportunities for English language learning or practice. Despite this, the participants managed to find or create learning opportunities based on their interests and goals. The findings showed that the participants carry a set of language learner beliefs (e.g., the value of having a strong connection with the language) and motivations (e.g., motivation for improvement of local English learning situation) that reflect a synergy between the environment’s influence and the learner’s agency. These beliefs and motivations aided the learners in the perception of learning affordances, which in turn allowed the participants to bypass the challenges of the environment and interact with LBC resources that fit with these beliefs and goals. The findings revealed a dynamic exercise of autonomy, unique to the learners in their environment and seen in different forms throughout the narratives. The dynamic aspect is drawn from the fact that the participants willingly give up control and change from self to other-directed learning to satisfy needs. The study has implications over three levels: theoretical, methodological and pedagogic implications. Concerning theory, the implications are for local researchers and researchers in similar settings to view challenging learning circumstances positively with consideration of how learners learn despite the difficulties. Additionally, the research calls for the use of the ecological perspective to view LBC experiences holistically and with reference to the relationship between the environment and the learner, reflecting aspects such as learner beliefs, motivations and autonomy. The study also has implications for methodology. They include the empowerment and prioritization of learners’ perspectives, the need for awareness of the pitfalls of conducting research in settings familiar to the researcher, and a demonstration of how to manage research limited by time or circumstances. In terms of pedagogic implications, the study demonstrates different activities learners in challenging environments can use. It also shows how LLHs are a strong tool through which learners can reflect on their learning experiences

Capturing and Scaffolding the Complexities of Self-Regulation During Game-Based Learning

Game-based learning environments (GBLEs) can offer students with engaging interactive instructional materials while also providing a research platform to investigate the dynamics and intricacies of effective self-regulated learning (SRL). Past research has indicated learners are often unable to monitor and regulate their cognitive and metacognitive processes within GBLEs accurately and effectively on their own due mostly to the open-ended nature of these environments. The future design and development of GBLEs and embedded scaffolds, therefore, require a better understanding of the discrepancies between the affordances of GBLEs and the required use of SRL. Specifically, how to incorporate interdisciplinary theories and concepts outside of traditional educational, learning, and psychological sciences literature, how to utilize process data to measure SRL processes during interactions with instructional materials accounting for the dynamics of leaners\u27 SRL, and how to improve SRL-driven scaffolds to be individualized and adaptive based on the level of agency GBLEs provide. Across four studies, this dissertation investigates learners\u27 SRL while they learn about microbiology using CRYSTAL ISLAND, a GBLE, building upon each other by enhancing the type of data collected, analytical methodologies used, and applied theoretical models and theories. Specifically, this dissertation utilizes a combination of traditional statistical approaches (i.e., linear regression models), non-linear statistical approaches (i.e., growth modeling), and non-linear dynamical theory (NDST) approaches (aRQA) with process trace data to contribute to the field\u27s current understanding of the dynamics and complexities of SRL. Furthermore, this dissertation examines how limited agency can act as an implicit scaffold during game-based learning to promote the use of SRL processes and increase learning outcomes

The impact of mobile reading devices on the reading habits of a group of adolescent learners in Zimbabwe

The pace of technological advancement and growth in the twenty-first century continues to soar at unprecedented levels and beyond human imagination. As the fourth industrial revolution unfolds, it has become increasingly difficult to predict the direction technological innovation will take in the not too distant future. Digital technologies have become an integral part of every aspect of human existence (work, play, schooling and personal relationships). The purpose of this study was to explore the various ways mobile technological gadgets like cell phones, tablets and laptops could be leveraged to promote a culture of leisure reading amongst a group of Zimbabwean adolescent learners. Data was collected using the literacy practices interview, mobile reading diaries, focus group interviews and the researcher’s personal field notes. Theoretically, the study was guided primarily by Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological systems theory. Also, the study was supported by Guthrie and Wigfield's reader engagement model and Turner and Hicks' connected reader model. The empirical data collected through the data collection instruments were analysed inductively. The findings revealed that adolescent learners are a digital generation whose reading needs are ever growing and expectations are ever changing. The adolescent participants expect their reading to be like the rest of their digital lives, which is quick, uninterrupted, personalised and smart. It was found that the adolescent participants like to read on their terms, as they dislike being told when to read or what to read. Three reader identities were revealed namely; the eager reader, the ‘fifty fifty’ reader and the non-reader. The adolescent participants who were not already mobile readers readily accepted and adopted mobile reading as it afforded them vast reading opportunities. Besides, the findings of the study revealed that participants encountered many challenges, which in some instances militated against their mobile reading endeavours. These challenges were because of mobile phone use restrictions in schools, prohibitive data costs, a strong emphasis on academic reading as opposed to leisure reading and internet connectivity problems amongst other issues. In this study, the recommendations and guidelines outlined provide a framework with which schools, parents, mobile reading application developers and policymakers can adopt to support a robust mobile reading culture amongst Zimbabwean adolescent learners. The researcher concluded that mobile reading devices are a novel, noble and credible means through which they can foster positive leisure literacy practices amongst Zimbabwean adolescents.Language Education, Arts and CulturePh. D. (Curriculum and Instructional Studies

The student-produced electronic portfolio in craft education

The authors studied primary school students’ experiences of using an electronic portfolio in their craft education over four years. A stimulated recall interview was applied to collect user experiences and qualitative content analysis to analyse the collected data. The results indicate that the electronic portfolio was experienced as a multipurpose tool to support learning. It makes the learning process visible and in that way helps focus on and improves the quality of learning. © ISLS.Peer reviewe

A Great Leap Forward: EFL curriculum

I have used the name, The Great Leap Forward in relation to my study of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum reform as I have linked economic, political and social developments of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in China with education developments that have occurred at the same time as the reform has been implemented. The EFL curriculum reform that I have researched is based on a program of considerable investigation and preparation designed on the basis of a balance between English language teaching and learning, curriculum, economic development and globalization. I have argued that implementing the current EFL curriculum reform is both a necessary process and a challenge for this country in the context of globalization, evidenced by China’s becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 and hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. Such phenomena have posed challenges for English language education as it has shifted its focus from traditional to modern EFL curriculum design to improve English competence in the current cohort of Chinese secondary school students

A great leap forward : EFL curriculum, globalization and reconstructionism - a case study in North East China

I have used the name, The Great Leap Forward in relation to my study of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum reform as I have linked economic, political and social developments of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in China with education developments that have occurred at the same time as the reform has been implemented.Doctor of Philosoph

THE PERCEPTION OF USING WEB BASED LEARNING BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implemented a policy to develop its educational infrastructure to reduce oil dependency. Saudi Higher Education (SHE) has come under increasing pressure to mobilise new technologies; however, pedagogical change has proven difficult. Web Based Learning (WBL) has recently emerged as a tool increasingly used within education for communicating and sharing information. A growing number of studies into WBL have largely ignored students’ perspective, a necessity to conceptualise the next generation of WBL. Therefore, this Thesis explores WBL’s nature and how it facilitates individual learning and knowledge sharing in Saudi Arabia. 48 SHE students participated in a user-oriented, process-based, exploratory and qualitative study. Research questions were conceptualised using theoretical sampling, in-depth interviewing, 3-step coding, and Constant Comparison Data Analysis methods. Investigative issues consisted of two perspectives. The technological perspective researched participants’ digital technologies constructs, perceived self-efficacy and awareness of technology importance and usefulness. The administration perspective investigated the roles of undergraduate students; importance of technology integration; infrastructure, training and support; and the importance of building a technology resource-base. The core findings highlight that effective integration of digital technologies currently appears challenging. All participant groups exhibited difficulties in conceptualising effective technology integration, however other results were optimistic. Participants reported a high degree of technology familiarity, expertise, awareness and self-efficacy. However, three major challenges were identified; domination of cultural-religious conservatism; traditionalism in curriculum design/associated pedagogical practices; the centralised process of implementing technology. The research sheds light on the role of Experiential Learning Theory and Narcissism Theory and how learning is conceptualised, tacit knowledge made explicit, and shared within different contexts of using WBL. Furthermore, this study provides educators and educational organisations with real data that defines good practice in WBL’s use

Dinâmicas de MOODLiz@ção num agrupamento de escolas de Matosinhos: o caso do agrupamento vertical de escolas de Leça da Palmeira/Santa Cruz do Bispo

Doutoramento em Multimédia em EducaçãoO advento da Internet e da Web, na década de 1990, a par da introdução e desenvolvimento das novas TIC e, por consequência, a emergência da Sociedade da Informação e do Conhecimento, implicaram uma profunda alteração na forma de análise dos processos de ensino-aprendizagem, já não apenas segundo um prisma cognitivista, mas, agora, também social, isto é, segundo a(s) perspetiva(s) construtivista(s). Simultaneamente, torna-se imperativo que, para que possam transformar-se em futuros trabalhadores de sucesso, isto é, trabalhadores de conhecimento (Gates, 1999), os sujeitos aprendentes passem a ser efetivamente educados/preparados para a Sociedade da Informação e do Conhecimento e, tanto quanto possível, através da educação/formação ao longo da vida (Moore e Thompson, 1997; Chute, Thompson e Hancock, 1999). Todavia, de acordo com Jorge Reis Lima e Zélia Capitão, não se deve considerar esta mudança de paradigma como uma revolução mas, antes, uma evolução, ou, mais concretamente ainda, uma “conciliação de perspectivas cognitivas e sociais” (Reis Lima e Capitão, 2003:53). Assim, às instituições de ensino/formação cumprirá a tarefa de preparar os alunos para as novas competências da era digital, promovendo “a aprendizagem dos pilares do conhecimento que sustentarão a sua aprendizagem ao longo da vida” (Reis Lima e Capitão, Ibidem:54), isto é, “aprender a conhecer”, “aprender a fazer”, “aprender a viver em comum”, e “aprender a ser” (Equipa de Missão para a Sociedade da Informação, 1997:39; negritos e sublinhados no original). Para outros, a Internet, ao afirmar-se como uma tecnologia ubíqua, cada vez mais acessível, e de elevado potencial, “vem revolucionando a gestão da informação, o funcionamento do mercado de capitais, as cadeias e redes de valor, o comércio mundial, a relação entre governos e cidadãos, os modos de trabalhar e de comunicar, o entretenimento, o contacto intercultural, os estilos de vida, as noções de tempo e de distância. A grande interrogação actual reside em saber se a Internet poderá também provocar alterações fundamentais nos modos de aprender e de ensinar” (Carneiro, 2002:17-18; destaques no original). Trata-se, portanto, como argumenta Armando Rocha Trindade (2004:10), de reconhecer que “Os requisitos obrigatórios para a eficácia da aprendizagem a ser assim assegurada são: a prévia disponibilidade de materiais educativos ou de formação de alta qualidade pedagógica e didáctica, tanto quanto possível auto-suficientes em termos de conteúdos teóricos e aplicados, bem como a previsão de mecanismos capazes de assegurar, permanentemente, um mínimo de interactividade entre docentes e aprendentes, sempre que quaisquer dificuldades destes possam manifestarse”. Esta questão é também equacionada pelo Eng.º Arnaldo Santos, da PT Inovação, quando considera que, à semelhança da “maioria dos países, a formação a distância em ambientes Internet e Intranet, vulgo e-Learning, apresenta-se como uma alternativa pedagógica em franca expansão. Portugal está a despertar para esta nova realidade. São várias as instituições nacionais do sector público e privado que utilizam o e-Learning como ferramenta ou meio para formar as suas pessoas” (Santos, 2002:26). Fernando Ramos acrescenta também que os sistemas de educação/formação que contemplam componentes não presenciais, “isto é que potenciam a flexibilidade espacial, têm vindo a recorrer às mais variadas tecnologias de comunicação para permitir a interacção entre os intervenientes, nomeadamente entre os professores e os estudantes. Um pouco por todo o mundo, e também em Portugal, se têm implantado sistemas (habitualmente designados como sistemas de ensino a distância), recorrendo às mais diversas tecnologias de telecomunicações, de que os sistemas de educação através de televisão ou os sistemas de tutoria por rádio ou telefone são exemplos bem conhecidos” (Ramos, 2002b:138-139). Ora, o nosso estudo entronca precisamente na análise de um sistema ou plataforma tecnológica de gestão de aprendizagens (Learning Management System - LMS), o MOODLE, procurando-se, deste modo, dar resposta ao reconhecimento de que “urge investigar sobre a utilização real e pedagógica da plataforma” (Carvalho, 2007:27). Por outro lado, não descurando o rol de interrogações de outros investigadores em torno da utilização do MOODLE, nem enveredando pelas visões mais céticas que inclusive pressagiam a sua “morte” (Fernandes, 2008b:134), também nós nos questionamos se esta ferramenta nem sequer vai conseguir transpor “a fase de final de entusiasmo, e tornar-se uma ferramenta de minorias e de usos ocasionais?” (Fernandes, Op. cit.:133).The beginning of Internet and of the Web, in the nineties, along with the introduction and development of new ICT and, as a consequence, the emergence of the Information and Knowledge Society, implied a profound change in the ways o of the teaching and learning processes, not any longer according to a single cognitivist prism, but, now, also social, i.e., according to the constructivist perspective(s). Simultaneously it becomes imperative that , so as to become future success workers, that is, knowledge workers (Gates, 1999), learners have to be effectively educated/prepared for the Information and Knowledge Society and, as much as possible, through lifelong education/training (Moore e Thompson, 1997; Chute, Thompson e Hancock, 1999). However, according to Jorge Reis Lima and Zélia Capitão, one cannot consider this change of paradigm as a revolution but rather as an evolution, or, more precisely yet, a “conciliation of cognitive and social perspectives” (Reis Lima and Capitão, 2003:53). Therefore, it is up to the teaching/training institutions to fulfil the task of preparing students for the new competences of the digital era, promoting “the learning of the principles of knowledge that will sustain the learning throughout life” (Reis Lima and Capitão, Ibidem:54), that is, “learning to know”, “learning to do”, “learning to live in common”, and “Learning to be” (Equipa de Missão para a Sociedade da Informação, 1997:39; bold and underlines in the original). For other, the Internet, affirming itself as an ubiquitous technology, more and more accessible and of high potential, “has been revolutionising the management of information, the functioning of the market of capitals, the chains and networks of value, the world commerce, the relationships between governments and citizens, the modes of working and of communicating, entertainment, the intercultural contact, life styles, the notions of time and distance. The great question at present resides in knowing whether the Internet can provoke fundamental changes in the ways of learning and teaching” (Carneiro, 2002:17-18; highlights in the original). We face, therefore, as Armando Rocha Trindade (2004:10) argues, the recognition that “The compulsory requisites for effective learning to be thus assured are: prior availability of educational or training materials of high pedagogical and didactic quality, as far as possible self sufficient in terms of theoretical and applied content, as well as the provision of mechanisms capable of assuring, permanently, a minimum of interactivity between teachers and learners, whenever any difficulty is manifested”. This issue is also equated by Engineer Arnaldo Santos, from PT Inovação, when he considers that, as it happens in the “majority of countries, distance education in Internet and Intranet environments, generally labelled e-Learning, is presented as a pedagogical alternative in overt expansion. Portugal is awakening for this new reality. There are various national public and private sector institutions that use e-Learning as a tool or means to train their people” (Santos, 2002:26). Fernando Ramos also adds that the systems of education/training that contemplate non face-to-face components “that is, that potentiate spatial flexibility, have been resorting to the most varied technologies of communication to allow interaction amongst participants, namely between teachers and students. A little throughout the world, and also in Portugal, have implanted systems (habitually known as distance learning systems), resorting the most diverse telecommunications technologies, of which the systems of education by TV or the tutoring systems by radio or telephone are well known examples” (Ramos, 2002b:138-139). Now, our study is rooted precisely on the analysis of a system or technological platform for the management of learning (Learning Management System - LMS), MOODLE, seeking, therefore, to find answers for the recognition that “it is urgent to study the real and pedagogical use of the platform” (Carvalho, 2007:27). On the other hand, not setting aside the array of questions from other researchers on the use of MOODLE, nor taking for granted the more sceptical views that include the premonition of its “death” (Fernandes, 2008b:134), we also question whether this tool will be able to overcome “the final phase of enthusiasm, and become a tool of the minorities and of occasional use” (Fernandes, Op. cit.:133)