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The
Integration of |
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homepage
Symposium programme LSU homepage |
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The
Integration of |
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| Symposium
homepage
Symposium programme LSU homepage |
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Presenters bio |
Abstract |
| Prof. Angela Chambers is Director of the Centre for Applied Language Studies at the University of Limerick. Her research interests include second language acquisition, culture and language learning, new technologies and language learning, particularly corpora and concordancing. | |
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Dr
Françoise Blin is a
Senior Lecturer in French in the |
Towards
a theoretical framework for the implementation and integration of new
technologies in the language classroom The computer tool vs. computer tutor framework, as discussed at length by Levy (1997), has been the dominant paradigm for CALL in the late 1990s. However, at a time when Web 2.0 technologies are increasingly penetrating learning environments, the tutor-tool paradigm can no longer adequately assist us in the design, implementation and evaluation of CALL. As a result, new approaches, originating in literacy research, multimodality and activity theory to mention but a few, are increasingly called upon by CALL researchers and developers. This presentation explores some tenets of activity theory that may be particularly helpful to the CALL community. In particular, the concept of ‘functional organs’, which “combine natural human capabilities with artefacts to allow the individual to attain goals that could not be attained otherwise” (Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006) is proposed as a potential alternative to the computer tool metaphor. |
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Dr
Marie-Thérèse Batardière
is a lecturer in French, Course
Director, MA in French and Co-ordinator of the French module in the
Language Studies stream, Graduate Diploma in Education (Languages) at the
University of Limerick. As new technologies
became available she made a point to incorporate these modern technologies
to enhance students’ second language learning. This leads her to
participate in initiatives on technologically innovative teaching
(internet, CMC, blogs). |
The
potential and practice of a class blog in language learning In recent years, blogs have emerged as a user-friendly communicative tool and, in this capacity, have found their way to the educational environment (Johnson, 2004; Connel, 2006). As stated by Murray and Hourigan (2006:158), blogs are typically individualistic or collaborative in nature. In second language teaching they may be the end-task or a complementing tool used to perform a set of tasks (Jeanneau and Batardière, 2006). Action research on using blogs in the language classroom –albeit scarce- has demonstrated that blogs can enhance and supplement the language class (Pinkman 2005). The present study provides qualitative empirical evidence that class blogs have formidable potential as an effective medium for active language learning. This paper will first present a teaching and learning project which combines research on the Internet with access to a collaborative blog. It will briefly discuss some of the practical issues involved in the setting up and administration of a class blog in order to assist language teachers who may be considering the introduction of this computer-based forum into their pedagogical approach. Then, on the strength of students’ blog postings and questionnaires -collected from three different cohorts of approximately 20 learners each-, this qualitative study will explore some of the intrinsic qualities and characteristics of a blog, such as authenticity (of task and communication), flexibility (of use and access) and writing creativity (of topic and style). It will also look at the ways a blog can reinforce the learners’ target language use and encourage an exchange of strategies. Finally, it will examine class blogs’ contribution to the promotion of cultural diversity and group identity. |
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Dr
Liam Murray
teaches courses on Computer-Assisted Language Learning, French
civilization and cyberculture, e-learning and Web site design and
evaluation at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University
of Limerick. Areas of research interest include CALL, automatic
summarization and the application of blog writing to second language
acquisition. Lorna Moloney, UL Conn Ó Muíneacháin, Edgecast Media Ltd |
MS
Producer and Podcasting for Blended (Language) Learning Purposes. Issues
and Implementations This joint presentation will discuss the area of adopting a blended learning approach for language learning purposes. Two pieces of software will be briefly shown as examples of what are currently available to the Language Tutor who may wish to incorporate blended learning into their pedagogical methodology. Our main aim is to show that whilst issues of usability and appropriateness remain very important, they can be addressed without major difficulties when we are attempting to meet the changing needs and expectations of our language learners in employing technology successfully in our teaching environments. |
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Elaine
Riordan has an MA in
English Language Teaching and is currently currently an IRCHSS Government
of Ireland Scholar undertaking a PhD at the |
New
Technologies in Language Teacher Education: Student Teacher Perspectives New technologies are dominating today’s society and creating an immense impact on fields such as pedagogy. These technologies are not only exceptional resources for students, they also create new opportunities for teachers. The creation of Communities of Practice This paper will present the preliminary results of a pilot study carried out with student teachers on an MA in English Language Teaching programme, who were introduced to and used various online tools over a twelve week period, with the aim of promoting critical reflection Blogs, chat and discussion fora will be examined, each with a different function. Blogs were used as a self-reflective space for the student teachers to use as a private diary, a chat session was held in order to discuss some practical areas of English language teaching and to promote peer mentoring, and a two week discussion forum was carried out with the aim of allowing the student teachers to reflect on different aspects of the theory and practice in language teaching, in particular teaching methodologies. This paper will illustrate some examples of these tools, and will then close on the student teachers’ own perceptions and reflections on these technologies. |
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Barbara
Geraghty teaches
Japanese and is subject leader of her section at the University of
Limerick. Her research interests include learner autonomy and motivation
and affect in language learning. She is currently developing interactive
software for the teaching of kanji to students of Japanese. Ann Marcus Quinn teaches Technical Communication and is a Research Officer with the National Digital Learning Repository. Her research interests include interactive learning and usability. |
Promoting
autonomous learning of the Japanese hiragana system using an interactive
CD Japanese uses three writing systems (hiragana, katakana, and the ideograms known as kanji), and as materials in the target language include all three, learning to read and write is the first major challenge that learners encounter. This paper focuses on an approach which combines an interactive multi-media method of learning reading and writing of one Japanese character set with more traditional methods. This approach involves classroom interaction, use of Flash-based courseware developed at the The method results in a blended approach where learners benefit from autonomous use of the learning object combined with classroom instruction and other activities outside the classroom. Classroom observation showed that most learners were spontaneously writing the new character set within a few minutes of beginning to use the learning object. This is an instance of learners using new technology for the practice of more traditional skills. This session will present the interactive CD, the results of the pilot study and the qualitative information from the two most recent groups of learners to use this approach. This project was the recipient of a European Award for Languages 2007 |
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Dr Robert
O’Dowd is a teacher
of English as a Foreign Language and has a Ph.D. on the development of
intercultural competence through the use of networked technologies in the
foreign language classroom. He teaches EFL and Applied Linguistics in |
Hands-on
workshop: Designing Tasks for Online Interaction in Foreign Language
Education: Options and Outcomes For more than two decades foreign language educators have been using networked technologies to engage their learners in online interaction in the foreign language both within their own classes and with learning partners in other parts of the globe. The structure and the outcomes of these telecollaborative exchanges vary greatly depending on the decisions made by the organising teachers in the design of the projects. These decisions are related to issues such as the role of the teachers and the partner-students, the use of the L1 and L2, the appropriate communication tools (whether they be more ‘traditional’ tools such as e-mail and message forums or more recent tools such as blogs and wikis), the methods of evaluation and, very importantly, the types of tasks around which the exchange is centred. This workshop will provide an overview of the different options available to teachers planning online communicative activities and will illustrate these different options from practical examples taken from previous projects and exchanges. Following that, the advantages and disadvantages of the various options related to language use, communication tools, evaluation and task design will be discussed and debated by the participants. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to plan online interaction activities which would be suited for their own particular teaching contexts. |
| Brendan Bolger is Humanities IT Support at the University of Limerick. His research interests include New Media, podcasting, and blogging. | Introduction to new technologies to integrate in the language classroom |
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Prof.
Sarah Moore is Dean of
Teaching & Learning at the University of Limerick. Her research
interest include Learning orientations and environments in work and
education, gender in education cognitive style, student retention in third
level environment, professional development in academia, teaching
innovation and diversity awareness and management. She is responsible for
the continued development of teaching and learning strategies at the
University of Limerick and is Strand leader of the Shannon consortium's
teaching and learning strategy. Catherine Jeanneau is Language Support Unit Manager and Regional Language Learning Centre Coordinator. Former part-time lecturer of French and teacher of French for adult programmes, she now concentrates on the coordination and management of several projects. Her research interests include second language acquisition, technology and language learning and learner autonomy |
Official launch of the Regional Language Learning Centre and its VLE (virtual learning environment) on Sulis |
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