Collaborative learning and the joint construction of knowledge and understanding

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Burkert
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Joint Construction ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Teaching Learning

AbstractThis article reports on a small-scale study conducted among first and second-year students of English at the University of Graz in the winter semester 2013–2014. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which students in their peer-group interactions were using language efficiently as a means of thinking and learning together. To this end, audio-recordings were made of pairs and groups of students working collaboratively on various tasks in three different English language classes. The article begins by briefly reviewing previous work on the joint construction of knowledge and understanding via learner-to-learner talk. Although this work pertains to collaborative learning in learners’ L1, the participants in the study, most of whom were future teachers of English, communicated in the target language at B2 level and thus seemed to constitute a group of learners to whom the literature equally applied. The next part of the article describes the teaching/learning context and the pedagogical approach followed, which is guided by the principles of learner autonomy. This is followed by an analysis of three transcripts of audio-recordings, and the article concludes by considering the implications for future practice of the insights gained.

scholarly journals Indonesian Freshmen’s Challenges in Collaborative Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic:A Reflection of a Procedural Writing Class

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Listyani
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
English Language ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Writing Class ◽  
Writing Students ◽  
Teaching Learning

One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world of education is the implementation of online learning. Almost all teaching/learning activities must be changed and adjusted with the virtual classes. One among other activities commonly done in an English language education program is group work or collaborative work between or among students. Due to the pandemic situation, this particular activity should also be done online. This study aims to describe freshmen’s perspectives on collaborative work done in a Procedural Writing class. The teacher of the writing class randomly paired the students to work collaboratively. There is only one research question in this study: What challenges do Procedural Writing students experience in doing collaborative learning during the pandemic COVID 19? Data were derived from reflections that fourteen (14) Procedural Writing students at an English Language Education Program (ELEP), UKSW, Indonesia, wrote in the sixth week of Semester II/ 2020-2021 academic year, and from interviews with two participants who said that they were not happy with collaborative learning. Findings showed that in general, the freshmen felt that collaborative work helped them write better, they got more ideas, helped in their grammar, and exchanged knowledge. Only two students felt unhappy due to misunderstanding and ideas which were not delivered successfully. This study will hopefully be useful for writing teachers, practitioners in education, as well as students so that they will have a wider horizon of what writing students feel and experience in collaborative learning during this pandemic era.

scholarly journals THEORY AND PRACTICE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Khalid Ahmed Hassan AHMED
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Methodological Procedures ◽  
Teaching Learning

Success in language teaching and learning is a multidisciplinary process in which language testing is an important pillar of success beside the other surrounding factors which range from the teaching learning context to the learners and teachers’ personal and educational factors. The aim of the present study is to identify to what extent there is a harmony between the teaching learning context on one hand and the theories and techniques of language testing on the other, and whether there is a matching between these theories of language testing and the practicality of these theories. We believe that there is a great mismatch between theories and practice of language testing as a result of the practices and the necessary expertise and knowledge needed in testing. This situation affects, to a great extent, the experience of language teaching learning process. This paper is a qualitative historical survey on language teaching learning context and theories of testing and language testing in particular. To process the study some related studies and literature will be explored, and some instances of language testing will be used to support this theoretical framework and to confirm our hypothesis that there is a gap between what is taught and what is examined. The study will include its importance, the methodological procedures that will be followed to attain the findings, recommendations and suggestions for future studies to let discussion in this area furthered in the future.

scholarly journals The role of output and feedback in second language acquisition: a classroom-based study of grammar acquisition by adult English language learners

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Donesch-Jezo
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
English Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Grammatical Competence ◽  
Learning Reinforcement

Second language acquisition (SLA) has been a concern of many teachers and researchers since the early 1960s. One of the issues related to SLA has been finding the techniques which effectively focus the learners’ attention on the target form. A number of theories and methods have been advocated for this purpose, ranging from implicit options to more explicit ones. Although each of the suggested methods has its own advantages, they have, so far, proved insufficient to get learners to be able to notice the gap between their own interlanguage forms and the target language forms. Swain (1995, 1998) has argued that a part from providing the learners with comprehensible input, comprehensible output also plays a beneficial role in L2 acquisition. By encouraging the learners to speak or write in the L2 and providing them with the opportunities to do so, the learners can notice that they are not able to say what they want to say in the target language. On the basis of Swain’s output hypothesis, we assumed that encouraging adult learners (university students) to produce target-like output would promote their achievement of the grammatical competence necessary for producing academic tests. The purpose of this article is to present the evidence from a class-room-based, small-scale study of the effect of output on learner acquisition of L2 modal verbs, adjectives and adverbs conveying the meanings of uncertainty, all of which are parts of speech that are important metadiscourse items. The results of the present study suggest that an approach in which students are encouraged to produce comprehensible output, combined with their being provided with learning reinforcement ensured by appropriate feedback, can be an effective source of establishing long-lasting grammatical accuracy in the students’ target language

scholarly journals UMA ANÁLISE DA PERCEPÇÃO DOS PARTICIPANTES SOBRE DISCUSSÕES DE GÊNERO EM UMA SALA DE AULA DE LÍNGUA INGLESA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Caiado Ferreira ◽  
Carla Janaína Figueredo
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
English Language ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Pedagogical Action ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Oral Practice ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Teaching Learning

Neste texto, analiso um recorte de uma discussão ocorrida na sala de aula da disciplina de Prática Oral 1 de Inglês do Curso de Letras, Licenciatura em Inglês, da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG). Essa discussão fez parte de uma ação pedagógica, realizada em quatro aulas, que teve como objetivo a problematização de questões de gênero social no contexto de ensino-aprendizagem de língua inglesa. A análise de dados foi feita com base no diálogo entre as teorizações bakhtinianas e as de gênero social, amparadas pela perspectiva da Linguística Aplicada Crítica. O estudo aponta para a relevância do papel do outro na construção identitária de cada sujeito, e, evidencia como a alteridade constitutiva se faz presente nas práticas de ensino da língua inglesa. Portanto, da diversidade estabelecida nas discussões, percebo a importância do diálogo, assim como da instabilidade característica do pensar crítico, na formação ética do sujeito. Abstract:In this paper, I analyze a fragment of a discussion occurred during an English Oral Practice 1 lesson, in the Letras Course of Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG).  This discussion was part of a pedagogical action, implemented in four classes, which aimed at problematizing gender issues in an English teaching-learning context. The problematization and reflections were based on the dialog between Bakhtin’s theoretical framework and gender theory, supported by the perspective of Critical Applied Linguistics. The study indicates the relevance of the other in the identity construction. Furthermore, it indicates the presence of the otherness constitution in an English language classroom. Therefore, from the diversity established in the discussions, I perceive the importance of the dialog, as well as the instability, which is a characteristic of thinking critically in one’s ethical formation.

scholarly journals Assessing English Language Teachers’ Awareness and Implementation of Motivational Strategies in EFL Class: Chilalo and Tokuma High Schools in Oromia Region Arsi Zone in Focus, Ethiopia

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Habib Beshir
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Motivational Strategies ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Arsi Zone ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching Learning

The main objective of this study was to assess the selected Ethiopian high schools English language teachers awareness and implementation of motivational strategies in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. Relevant data were collected from two conveniently sampled high schools: Chilalo and Tokkummaa high schools. The tools used to collect data were questionnaire, interview, and observation. 419 students who were enrolled in the aforementioned high schools in 2018 filled out questionnaire. Interview with eleven purposively sampled English language teachers under the study area and classroom observation were also employed. Then the data gathered through questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form percentage and, mean and later interpreted. The data obtained though interview and observation were analyzed qualitatively through emerging trends. The result of this study revealed that, Grade nine English language teachers under the study area have good level of awareness regarding the motivational strategies. They believe that motivational strategies enhance the teachers to motivate students towards the target language and make the teaching-learning environment stimulating. However, although English language teachers under the study area have good awareness concerning the role of motivation in language teaching, the motivational strategies are not being implemented satisfactorily. Thus, English language teachers under the study area should implement motivational strategies in EFL class. Therefore, it would be possible to produce competent professionals and alleviate problems pertaining to teaching-learning environment of all Ethiopian state high schools in general and the selected high schools in particular.   

scholarly journals Differentiating Cooperative Learning and Collaborative Learning: What Is Fit for Pakistani Higher Education?

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Abdul Hameed Panhwar ◽  
Abdul Sattar Gopang ◽  
Zubair Ahmed Chachar ◽  
Shahnaz Baloch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Group Work ◽  
English Language ◽  
Present Context ◽  
Work Cooperative ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Structured Approach

This paper attempts to clarify the relationship between cooperative and collaborative learning and shows that cooperative learning could be more effective in the context of Pakistani higher education. It is argued that although both these approaches are forms of group work, cooperative learning is more structured and controlled. Collaborative learning, on the contrary, is not that structured and depends on students to work independently in groups without involving the instructor authority very much. Therefore, the researchers in this research paper tend to justify how the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) in Pakistani higher education is more or less teacher-cantered and exam-based and how a structured approach to group work like cooperative learning might be of a great assistance in teaching English language in Pakistani universities and colleges. Hence, the study, through the critical review of the studies on cooperative and collaborative learning, aims at providing the rationale that cooperative learning might be more effective in teaching ESL classes in the present context. Furthermore, with the help of the previous research, Pakistani teachers and educators are provided with useful methods and suggestions for how to use cooperative learning in their ESL classes effectively. Thus, the aim of the paper is to offer additional understanding on how instructors can efficiently adopt cooperative learning to ESL teaching-learning processes in their classrooms.

scholarly journals Designing Bilingual Scenarios to Promote English Language Learning at a Public School in Monteria

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Yanilis Romero ◽  
Milton Pajaro Manjarres
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Public School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Target Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Teaching Learning

<p>This research study examines the assumptions of creating bilingual scenarios to promote English language learning for 384 students of ninth, tenth and eleventh grade of a public school in Monteria Colombia. An action research methodology was carried out in this study. The findings of this research suggested that the creation of bilingual scenarios within the school facilitated the promotion of English language learning because the students felt the need to use the target language in different contexts and situations and also because they felt that they were an important part of the teaching-learning process.</p>

scholarly journals EFL Learners’ Beliefs and Practices on Informal Digital Learning of English beyond Classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-212
Author(s):  
Arif Nugroho ◽  
Yunika Triana
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Digital Devices

ABSTRACTThe present-day English language learning is characterized by educational potentials of digital technology for informal learning context. However, research examining EFL learners’ characteristics on self-directed use of digital devices for language learning remains a paucity of evidence. Addressing this current issue, the present study aims to shed some light on English language learners’ beliefs and practices on informal digital learning of English beyond classroom. A total of 117 Indonesian EFL learners participated in this study through a 5-point Likert-scale survey and semi-structured interview. The results revealed the disparity between the EFL learners’ beliefs and practices on informal digital learning of English. These EFL learners surely believed that informal digital learning activities could significantly enhance the target language skills, but they slightly engaged in digital learning activities beyond the classroom schedule. The results of semi-structured interviews further delineated that use of native languages in their social circle relationships and limitations of the digital devices used became particular reasons for this circumstance. The results contribute to the realm of English language teaching to reach the possible synchronicity between teacher-designed in-class and out-class digital learning activities and students’ language learning styles and preferences to achieve the success of target language learning.ABSTRAKPembelajaran bahasa Inggris masa kini bercirikan potensi pendidikan teknologi digital untuk konteks pembelajaran informal. Namun, penelitian yang meneliti karakteristik pelajar EFL tentang penggunaan perangkat digital secara mandiri untuk pembelajaran bahasa masih tetap kekurangan bukti. Mengatasi masalah saat ini, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan keyakinan dan praktik pembelajar bahasa Inggris tentang pembelajaran digital informal bahasa Inggris di luar kelas. Sebanyak 117 pelajar EFL Indonesia berpartisipasi dalam penelitian ini melalui survei skala Likert 5 poin dan wawancara semi terstruktur. Hasilnya mengungkapkan perbedaan antara keyakinan dan praktik pelajar EFL pada pembelajaran digital informal bahasa Inggris. Pembelajar EFL ini pasti percaya bahwa kegiatan pembelajaran digital informal dapat secara signifikan meningkatkan keterampilan bahasa target, tetapi mereka sedikit terlibat dalam kegiatan pembelajaran digital di luar jadwal kelas. Hasil wawancara semi-terstruktur lebih lanjut menggambarkan bahwa penggunaan bahasa asli dari hubungan lingkaran sosial mereka dan keterbatasan perangkat digital yang digunakan menjadi alasan khusus untuk keadaan ini. Hasilnya berkontribusi pada ranah pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk mencapai kemungkinan sinkronisitas antara kegiatan pembelajaran digital di dalam dan di luar kelas yang dirancang guru dan gaya dan preferensi belajar bahasa siswa untuk mencapai keberhasilan pembelajaran bahasa target.  

scholarly journals Investigating Learners' Perceptions about the Role of English Language Curriculum Set in Boosting Communicative Competence of the Students: The South Punjab Scenario

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 112-123
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ahsan ◽  
Syed Waseem Azhar Seemab ◽  
Shahid Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Teaching Learning

The purpose of this work was to investigate learners' perceptions about the role of the English language curriculum set in boosting the communicative competence of the students of South Punjab. The present research was planned to use a mixed method. Most of the students showed that the curriculum designed for L2 learners causes negative effects in the process of L2 learning as it does not satisfy the communicative needs of the students. To make sure the effective use of textbooks or curriculum for L2 learning, there are certain steps that English teachers and learners can take to make better use of the English curriculum to improve learners' communicative competence. To make sure better language learning through textbooks and other teaching materials, teachers must play a vital role in the selection of textbooks and helping material. English textbooks with good teaching/learning materials can encourage L2 learning, improve communicative competence and can persuade learners so that they can achieve understandable feedback from their teachers and feel attentiveness towards the target language through textbooks or curriculum.

scholarly journals Indonesian Freshmen’s Challenges in Collaborative Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic:A Reflection of a Procedural Writing Class

2021 ◽  
pp. 307-317
Author(s):  
Listyani Listyani
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
English Language ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Writing Class ◽  
Writing Students ◽  
Teaching Learning

One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world of education is the implementation of online learning. Almost all teaching/learning activities must be changed and adjusted with the virtual classes. One among other activities commonly done in an English language education program is group work or collaborative work between or among students. Due to the pandemic situation, this particular activity should also be done online. This study aims to describe freshmen’s perspectives on collaborative work done in a Procedural Writing class. The teacher of the writing class randomly paired the students to work collaboratively. There is only one research question in this study: What challenges do Procedural Writing students experience in doing collaborative learning during the pandemic COVID 19? Data were derived from reflections that fourteen (14) Procedural Writing students at an English Language Education Program (ELEP), UKSW, Indonesia, wrote in the sixth week of Semester II/ 2020-2021 academic year, and from interviews with two participants who said that they were not happy with collaborative learning. Findings showed that in general, the freshmen felt that collaborative work helped them write better, they got more ideas, helped in their grammar, and exchanged knowledge. Only two students felt unhappy due to misunderstanding and ideas which were not delivered successfully. This study will hopefully be useful for writing teachers, practitioners in education, as well as students so that they will have a wider horizon of what writing students feel and experience in collaborative learning during this pandemic era.

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