Integrating International Video Chat into the Foreign Language Curriculum

Author(s):  
Tasha N. Lewis ◽  
Holly Schneider

This article is a description of face-to-face real-time international virtual language exchanges that have been integrated into first and second year Spanish courses at the university level. The focus of this article is to explain the origins of the virtual language exchange, its implementation into the program-wide curriculum, its effect on students, and to explain in detail how a session operates. The success of the virtual language exchange program is evident based on an analysis of video captured dialogues, coordinator and facilitator observations of the program, as well as participant feedback about the experience. The content and methodology of this article are adaptable to any second/foreign language course.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Walter Cañarte Ávila ◽  
Ned Quevedo Arnaiz ◽  
Nemis García Arias

Aprender inglés como lengua extranjera presenta varias posibilidades de realización que se expresan en  las modalidades que se emplean desde lo presencial a lo virtual o la combinación de ambos. En los tiempos actuales se ha priorizado cómo transformar la tecnología y las herramientas de enseñanza aprendizaje antes que las diferentes formas cómo se aprende con ellas, por ello el problema que se atiende en este trabajo es cómo lograr la interacción mediante la tecnología sin que se obstaculice el desarrollo armónico en la lengua extranjera a los estudiantes de las carreras técnicas. El objeto es el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje del inglés en la Universidad y su campo la contribución al desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa oral del inglés en la modalidad combinada en las carreras técnicas. El objetivo perseguido es la elaboración de una estrategia metodológica que contribuya al desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa oral en la modalidad combinada para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera en las carreras técnicas en la Universidad, lo que constituye el principal aporte del trabajo, y el cual se evaluó mediante la metodología del criterio de expertos. El trabajo subrayó con la propuesta de estrategia que el aprendizaje del inglés requiere de interacción constante entre los estudiantes en contextos virtuales y presenciales. Palabras claves: Estrategia, enseñanza aprendizaje, modalidad combinada, criterio de expertos   Learning and teaching: a pro virtual proposal for English in the present university level context  Abstract  To learn English as a foreign language has several possibilities to be done that are expressed in the way of learning that are used, from the face- to- face teaching to the virtual one or the combination of both. In the current times a thought has been prioritized on how to transform the technology and the tools used for teaching and learning instead of the forms of learning with them, for that reason the problem of this work is how to achieve the interaction by means of technology leading towards the development of the foreign language by the students in the technical degrees. The pursued objective is the elaboration of a methodological strategy that contributes to the development of the oral speaking competence in the blended learning for English teaching and learning as a foreign language for the technical degrees at the University, what constitutes the main contribution of this work and was corroborated by means of the experts’ analysis.  The paper underlined that leaning English requires constant interaction in virtual and face to face contexts as in the case of this strategy.  Key words: Strategy, teaching and learning, blended learning, experts' analysis


Author(s):  
Erda Wati Bakar

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) has become the standard used to describe and evaluate students’ command of a second or foreign language. It is an internationally acknowledged standard language proficiency framework which many countries have adopted such as China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. Malaysia Ministry of Education is aware and realise the need for the current English language curriculum to be validated as to reach the international standard as prescribed by the CEFR. The implementation of CEFR has begun at primary and secondary level since 2017 and now higher education institutions are urged to align their English Language Curriculum to CEFR as part of preparation in receiving students who have been taught using CEFR-aligned curriculum at schools by year 2022. This critical reflection article elucidates the meticulous processes that we have embarked on in re-aligning our English Language Curriculum to the standard and requirements of CEFR. The paper concludes with a remark that the alignment of the English curriculum at the university needs full support from the management in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully prepared, informed and familiar with the framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 77-99
Author(s):  
Pilar Nicolás Martínez ◽  
Marta Pazos Anido ◽  
Mónica Barros Lorenzo

This study is framed in the context of the pre-service masters degrees in the teaching of languages (Spanish as a foreign language + Portuguese as a mother tongue, and Spanish + English as foreign languages) given at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto. This training is preparation for the teaching of languages in lower and upper secondary education in Portugal.During the second year of these masters degrees, trainees conduct a teaching practicum in secondary schools and prepare a reflective portfolio related to this experience. One of the sections of this document is based on the descriptors of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL).In this study, seventy-five trainee portfolios were collected from 2014 to 2019 and the written reflections related to the EPOSTL descriptors associated with “Culture” were selected for analysis. The objective was to analyse trainees’ concerns, interests and perceptions about culture and its didactics in Spanish classroom, and in light of this, consider how to improve the training offered.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Raković ◽  

The paper deals with the observation of the specifics of online teaching of lexicology and syntax of the Serbian language at the Faculty of Philology of students studying a foreign language. The aim is to notice possibilities of realization of online teaching. The research was conducted on the basis of the implementation of the teaching process in the subject Serbian language 2 (lexicology and syntax) and a survey of students on the advantages and disadvantages of online teaching. The analysis showed that online teaching provides shortcomings in the form of insufficient time for the teacher to deal in more detail with student ambiguities, but also provides numerous opportunities for progress in education – mostly in terms of student time organization and uninterrupted questioning, which is not always the case. Based on the obtained results, we will try to give methodological implications for teaching practice, which concern the possibility of improving online teaching of the Serbian language at the university level.


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