School Improvement?: Fully addressing barriers to learning and teaching is the next step!

2013 ◽  
ReCALL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayo Reinders ◽  
Sorada Wattana

AbstractThe possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact does gameplay have on students’ perceptions of themselves as learners, and how does this affect their learning practice? These questions are important as they are likely to influence the success of digital game-based language learning, and as a result the way teachers might integrate games into the curriculum. In this study we investigated the experiences of five students who had participated in a fifteen-week game-based learning program at a university in Thailand. We conducted six interviews with each of them (for a total of 30 interviews) to identify what impact gameplay had in particular on their willingness to communicate in English (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément & Noels, 1998). The results showed that gameplay had a number of benefits for the participants in this study, in particular in terms of lowering their affective barriers to learning and increasing their willingness to communicate. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of further research and classroom practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 414-425
Author(s):  
Omran Alharbi

The advancement of digital technology has a great influence on the development of many areas of modern life. Over recent years, e-learning systems have managed to gain a competitive edge over the more traditional methods of learning. The learning and teaching techniques employed by e-learning systems allow more flexibility and provide freedom from the restrictions of time, location, physical presence and other aspects of traditional learning. Nevertheless, e-learning does have its own drawbacks, and research into the barriers to learning will assist in overcoming some of the problems associated with e-learning success. This study attempts to determine the obstacles that can influence the success of ICT within institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This qualitative research examined the obstacles of the use of ICT in the education process from learner’s perspectives and the potential solutions that can help to reduce these obstacles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven e-learning students from one Saudi University. Purposive sample techniques were used with participants, and the results revealed that there were many barriers that hindered learners from benefitting from the use of ICT in education. These obstacles included lack of technical support, technical issues, lack of English language, lack of design e-course materials, and lack of motivation. In addition, a number of solutions were considered in this study.


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