scholarly journals MOOCs for language learning – opportunities and challenges: the case of the Open University Italian Beginners’ MOOCs

2017 ◽  
pp. 85-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Motzo ◽  
Anna Proudfoot
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Open University

Learning opportunities in peer-peer interaction: A case study of two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-226
Author(s):  
Dan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Negotiation For Meaning

AbstractThe roles of interaction have been studied for several decades. Recent studies have turned to investigate “the details of which components of interaction might be more or less effective in which contexts with which learners” (Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato. 2018. Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 51(3). 285–329: 286). This case study, based on three unstructured interactions outside the classroom between two L2 Mandarin Chinese learners, investigates the learning opportunities these interactions brought about in terms of helping them to increase in control over forms that had already been encountered inside the classroom. Using the concept of the language-related episode (Swain, Merrill & Sharon Lapkin. 1998. Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal 82(3). 320–337), this study sets focus on learning opportunities for lexis- and grammar-related items. It finds learning opportunities arise as the two peers negotiate for meaning motivated by the need to comprehend, strive to use the L2 to express/co-express themselves, and improve their form through the other’s feedback. In addition, lexis-related learning is found to be very positive in this study. The dictionary played an indispensable role in facilitating the learners when they encountered lexis-related issues. Further, it enabled the learners to learn new vocabulary when driven by communicative needs. In comparison, the grammar-related learning is found to be relatively complicated. And the fact the learners had nowhere to resort to concerning grammatical issues attributed to it. In terms of the different types of interactions, compared to learning through negotiation for meaning and feedback, output and co-construction/collaboration were found to be most productive in promoting the learning.

scholarly journals Logbook: a Tool for Learning Inside and Outside the Language Class

EL LE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella Menegale
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Language Class

One of the aims of language learning is that learners can apply outside the classroom what they learn at school and, vice versa, can use in classroom what comes from their experience in ‘real’ life, that is, outside school walls. However, as nearly a century of experimental research on the field has proved, knowledge transfer does not occur spontaneously, on the contrary, this capacity seems to be particularly complicated and difficult to encourage. It is therefore crucial to help learners gain awareness and make use of existing language learning opportunities as well as the learning strategies they can employ so to increase their capacity to make connections. Among the different tools that can be used to enhance both language competence and metacognitive awareness, logbook is considered one of the most handy and purposeful. This paper will try to explain what a logbook is and how it can be used with students with the intention to promote their language learning both in and out of the classroom.

Language choice and second language learning opportunities in learners’ social networks

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 5.1-5.18
Author(s):  
Naomi Kurata
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
On Line ◽  
Natural Interactions

This paper examines the patterns of language choice and the construction of L2 learning opportunities in foreign language learners’ social networks by focusing on how these patterns and opportunities are socially structured in a Japanese language learner’s natural interactions. It is based on a range of data, including a script of on-line chat occurring in natural environments as well interview data. Drawing on Cummins’ (1996) concept of interpersonal space, the findings indicate that there were a number of social and contextual factors that seemed to affect the learner’s language choice and L2 learning opportunities in complex ways. Most of these factors appeared to be related to the learner’s and/or his network interactants’ identity as an adequate L2 user and their perception of each other’s L2 proficiency and/or role. This paper provides insights into how to create environments that promote the learners’ opportunities for L2 use and learning.

scholarly journals The Historical Development and Adaptation of Open Universities in Turkish Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aras Bozkurt
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Open University ◽  
State University ◽  
Information Gap ◽  
Turkish Higher Education ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
Definition Of

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has a long history, one marked by the emergence of open universities, which was a critical development in the ecology of openness. Open universities have taken on significant local and global roles within the framework of meeting the needs of their respective regions of influence, and as such, their roles have evolved over time. Against this background, the purpose of this research is to explore the open university phenomenon by examining the case of Anadolu University in Turkey, a mega university that has transformed into what is now a giga university. More specifically, the research first looks at openness in education and how the concept itself has led to the emergence of open universities, before turning attention to Anadolu University, which is a dual-mode, state university with around 3 million enrolled students. Other issues that are addressed as part of this research include the rise of ODL and how it positioned itself within Turkish higher education; the historical development of Anadolu University and its massiveness, in terms of student numbers and services provided; local and global ODL practices; learner profiles, learning materials and spaces; exams and assessment and evaluation processes; learner support services, and Anadolu University’s contribution, as an open university, to the field of ODL. The research shows that as an open university, Anadolu University has narrowed the information gap and digital divide, has enhanced equality of opportunity in education, and has provided lifelong learning opportunities. More importantly, as an institution that has gone beyond the conventional understanding of an open university, Anadolu University serves as a catalyst of change and innovation in its emergence as a role model for other higher education institutions. The following recommendations were able to be developed from the examinations of this study: (1) develop a definition of “openness” based on the changing paradigms of the 21st century and online learning, (2) enter into national and international collaborations between open universities, (3) adopt culturally relevant open pedagogies, (4) develop and design heutagogy-based curricula, and (5) unbundle ODL services in mega and giga universities.

scholarly journals Speaking Their Sex: A Study of Gender and Linguistic Space in an ESL Classroom

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson Jule
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Linguistic Variable ◽  
Esl Classroom

This study is an exploration of the amount of talk (also referred to as "linguistic space," Mahony, 1985) used by girls as opposed to boys in a grade 2 ESL classroom located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The focus was on the amount of language used by the girls in teacher-led classroom lessons. Data were collected through videotaped observations, which were then transcribed, measured by counting words, and analyzed for conversational opportunities. The findings revealed that being a girl may have affected participation in the classroom lessons, and by extension affected language-learning opportunities. The particular lack of linguistic space in the girls' experience suggests that the girls in this classroom may be limited in language use. Their silence appeared partly influenced by the teacher's response to their comments. The article concludes with a discussion of gender as a significant linguistic variable in an ESL experience.

scholarly journals Governmental partnerships for language learning: A commercial language platform for young workers in Colombia

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Garcia Botero ◽  
Jacqueline Garcia Botero ◽  
Frederik Questier
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Colombian Government ◽  
Learning Policies ◽  
Free Language

<p>In June 2015, the Colombian government via the Labor Ministry announced a project for young workers called 40.000 Primeros Empleos. In the framework of this project, the Ministry of Labor signed an alliance with the language platform Duolingo as a strategy to provide participants with English learning opportunities and a free language certificate. With the help of a monitoring and evaluation perspective, this study describes Colombian English language learning policies and their relationship with the labour market. The discussion presented here intends to maximize the outcomes of these kinds of agreements and to provide insights for researchers and national stakeholders willing to carry out similar projects in their countries. Certification is also thoroughly analyzed as a means of estimating the possible impact of this partnership.</p>

scholarly journals The Pedagogy of Learner Autonomy: Lessons from the Classroom

2017 ◽  
pp. 102-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Cotterall
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
The Relationship

Learner autonomy in language learning has been the focus of enthusiastic investigation for the last 25 years. Research has focused on three key areas: the nature of autonomy, efforts to foster learner autonomy and the relationship between learner autonomy and effective language learning (Benson, 2011). This article focuses on the second area – the pedagogy of learner autonomy – and reports on insights gained from a career spent exploring learners’ efforts to learn a language. The paper is organized around a pedagogical model (Cotterall & Murray, 2009; Murray, 2013) which aims to enhance learner engagement and autonomy. The model consists of five affordances – engagement, exploration, personalization, reflection and support – which emerged from analysing the interviews and written narratives of Japanese university students engaged in independent language learning. The paper first discusses each of the five affordances and the way they contribute to the quality of language learning opportunities (Crabbe, 2003) in a given environment. Next, the affordances are illustrated in relation to five different learning contexts in an attempt to highlight the diverse ways in which learner autonomy can be promoted. Rather than prescribe particular classroom activities, the model identifies principles which can guide pedagogical decision-making. The paper concludes by considering the model’s potential as a set of guidelines for teachers who wish to promote learner autonomy.

scholarly journals Technology in formal and informal learning environments: Student perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Katia Carraro ◽  
Ruth Trinder
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Mediated Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
The Individual

The aim of this study is to assess whether the ease with which L2 learners/users can engage with their target languages beyond the classroom influences their perceptions of formal environments. In the last two decades, the rapid development and spread of new technologies has transformed foreign language acquisition, facilitating learning through leisure and informal language contact. At the same time, the new media are altering instructional contexts. Having always played a defining role in self-access centres (SACs), their ubiquity may now threaten this setting’s raison d’être; and while they can certainly add new dimensions to formal teaching, they are not necessarily welcomed by all stakeholders alike. These potential conflicts triggered our interest in researching students’ use of and perspectives on the affordances of technology for language learning in both formal as well as informal environments. Drawing on questionnaires, interviews and the results of the annual SAC monitoring, we will present data from three interlinked settings. Results indicate that despite the abundance of technology-based language learning opportunities, students still believe they benefit profoundly from the expertise and feedback of teachers and SAC advisors. We will conclude by pointing out potential reciprocal influences between the individual settings of a learning environment, and advise how teachers could help students become better-informed consumers of technology-mediated learning opportunities.

scholarly journals Language Policy in Non-Classroom Language Learning Spaces

2018 ◽  
pp. 156-178
Author(s):  
Katherine Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Classroom Language ◽  
First Languages

As self-access centres become increasingly social in function, the language of the interactions which take place in such language learning spaces (LLSs) and the guidelines or policies which guide their use have become increasingly important. Despite this, little research has been conducted into language policy. This preliminary study surveyed 50 self-access language learning practitioners in 30 institutions around the globe about their language policies and how they are received by different stakeholders, including learners. A range of approaches to language policy are in place, from strict policies that only permit the target language, to more flexible ones that allow or encourage learners’ first languages. Around a third of institutions reported no official policy in place. The data reveals that LLSs with strict policies tend to be found more in EFL contexts, but the factors governing policy choice are complex and depend on local context. While support for all kinds of policies is present in the data set, there is a distinct trend towards flexibility and acknowledgement of the complexity of creating an environment which maximises learning opportunities for all users.

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