“Learning from One Another” eTwinning Project

2013 ◽  
pp. 170-181
Author(s):  
Maria da Piedade Carvalho da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Intercultural Contact ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects

Learning a foreign language (FL) entails more than attaining the mastery of a system of linguistic norms or the functional and pragmatic aspects of that language. It requires learning to adapt to different cultural norms. So, the challenge is to provide FL learners with opportunities to interact with people from other cultural and linguistic realities and re-focus the aims of FL learning to the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). The introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in education not only enhances the access to information but also enables intercultural contact among individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, setting the conditions for the development of curriculum-based telecollaboration projects. The LOA eTwinning project presented in this chapter was implemented in the context of an action-research project aimed to introduce an intercultural approach to teaching English to raise pupils’ motivation and challenge them to become more creative, more collaborative, and more autonomous.

scholarly journals Collaborative action research: Building authentic literate practices into a foreign language program

2011 ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Theresa Austin ◽  
Mark Blum
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Literate Practices ◽  
Authentic Literacy

Two university professors collaborate to carry out an action research project on literacy in a world language program. This article reports on their negotiations to define literacy, how they adapt the use of texts to the cultural backgrounds and interests of their learners and integrate native speakers in a community that builds various understanding of texts through discussion. Our collaborative process provides one example of how action research can systematically inform teaching and learning to build authentic literacy practices in a second or foreign language program.

scholarly journals Examining Teacher Agency Among Teacher Educators: An Action Research In Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 94-113
Author(s):  
Tung Ngoc Vu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Positive Attitudes

Teacher agency is an important topic in educational research, but its theoretical observations have not filtered down into practical Vietnamese teaching contexts. The action research project described here showcases a training-based intervention for teacher educators in various disciplines at eight universities in Vietnam. The intervention aimed to develop teaching skills and increase knowledge for teacher educators by helping them explore their students’ learning needs and facilitate their professional development. This study occurred within the context of changing Vietnamese political, cultural, economic, and social ways of being. Eight Vietnamese teacher educators of different cultural backgrounds, and working across a variety of subjects were invited to participate in the project. Two stages of research sought to help educators in higher education reflect on their exploration and perception of their teacher agency. The first stage involved training sessions that offered educators necessary knowledge and skills to exercise agency effectively. In the second stage, educators’ promotion of their agency in classrooms was analytically observed. Data collected included observation notes, reflective journals, and recordings from semi-structured interviews. Analysis of this data suggested that educators became more knowledgeable, intercultural, and inspirational agents in their classrooms after the educational intervention. Educators exhibited that the more positive attitudes, the more active participation. Conclusions discussed the benefits of fostering teacher agency and how this can be facilitated through professional development.

scholarly journals Faglig og språklig utvikling hos studenter med norsk som andrespråk i Akademisk språkkafé – praktisk medvirkningsbasert aksjonsforskning

2020 ◽  
pp. 391-417
Author(s):  
Hjørdis Frisnes ◽  
Beate Lie Sverre ◽  
Marit Gjone Sandsleth ◽  
Anne Stenhammer ◽  
Liv Helene Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Action Research Approach

In this chapter, we present a practical participative action research project. The context of this study is the bachelor’s program in nursing, which, like other higher education programs in Norway, has increased the proportion of students from different age, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is a resource in the universities, but on the other hand it is necessary to understand the challenges these students may have with studying in a foreign language. In the article, we have explored Norwegian and international research and found a need for new initiatives that can strengthen the academic and linguistic development of nursing students with Norwegian as a second language. Based on socio-cultural learning theory and principles of action research in our own organization, the purpose of this chapter is to show how students, academic staff and university librarians collaborated through cyclic learning and research processes to develop learning activities that can enhance academic and linguistic development in students with Norwegian as a second language. In the meta-reflections, we found that the combination of linguistic and professional learning and collaborative relationships was of significant importance in the learning processes. The predictable and cyclical structure of the action research approach strengthened the development of practical knowledge.

scholarly journals Rural Northern Canadian Teachers’ Discoveries about Young Children’s Oral Language

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley Stagg Peterson ◽  
Christine Portier
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects

Kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers collaborated with university researchers in an action research project aiming to find ways to support young children’s oral language. Analysing video data of children’s interactions during play, we worked together to create an observation tool that allows teachers to focus on ways in which children use language to carry out social purposes. In this paper, we report on teachers’ discoveries about the wide range of social purposes which children carry out using language, and their use of an observation framework that captures the pragmatic aspects of children’s language while engaged in play. Our research has implications for all teachers who wish to learn more about observing and supporting children’s oral language use.

Exploring the Fourth Order

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barend KLITSIE ◽  
Rebecca PRICE ◽  
Christine DE LILLE
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Fourth Order ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Current Business

Companies are organised to fulfil two distinctive functions: efficient and resilient exploitation of current business and parallel exploration of new possibilities. For the latter, companies require strong organisational infrastructure such as team compositions and functional structures to ensure exploration remains effective. This paper explores the potential for designing organisational infrastructure to be part of fourth order subject matter. In particular, it explores how organisational infrastructure could be designed in the context of an exploratory unit, operating in a large heritage airline. This paper leverages insights from a long-term action research project and finds that building trust and shared frames are crucial to designing infrastructure that affords the greater explorative agenda of an organisation.

Theology as social activity: theological action research and teaching the knowledge of Christian ethics and practical ministry

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-357
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Christian Formation ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Practical Ministry ◽  
Ministry Students

AbstractTheological Action Research (TAR) is a way of doing and teaching theology and forming students that surmounts the problems associated with both formal theologies and theological ethnographies. Drawing from models of action research developed in other fields, this paper outlines an approach to teaching practical ministry grounded in a collaborative mode of inquiry capable of generating new insights into humanity's relation to God while also engendering the ethical-political powers that give shape to collective life. As a process of what anthropologist Lia Haro calls eth-o-graphy, Christian formation and knowledge production cannot be disconnected from cooperative participation in communities of practice dedicated to this kind of social, ecclesial activity. The paper goes on to describe how the author has begun to implement this TAR model at a Catholic, Jesuit institution, offering some promising preliminary findings on the potential it holds for training ministry students.

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