Post on 15-Jul-2015
transcript
Using WhatsApp to facilitate language learning in preparation
for and during the year abroad
E- symposium 2015 22nd January, 2013 - 23rd January, 2015
University of Southampton
Isabel Cobo Palacios, Billy Brick and Tiziana Cervi-Wilson
Coventry University
Growth of Internet messaging
The project
Tasks
Participation
Responses
Positive and negative aspects
Feedback
Future Directions
Overview
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Students don’t feel confident with the language before spending their 3rd Year abroad
Motivation for the project
‘Even sending us an email asking how we were getting on would’ve made a huge difference’
The Guardian, (2014)
Universities don't offer enough support
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Immediacy
Grouping feature
Accessibility
Multiple formats: videos, images, sound
Cross-network and device coverage
“The greatest and most important part of our daily learning is made through informal learning” (Rogers, 2004)
Advantages of the use of
WhatsApp Brick and Cervi-Wilson
(2014)
Expertise
Wlodkowski’s Motivational Framework for Culturally
Responsive Teaching
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Empathy
Enthusiasm Clarity
Cultural Responsiveness
Wlodkowski (2008)
WhatsApp Project
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10 University students
Year abroad experience
Third year
Spanish and French undergraduates
October November December January February March April
Formal/Informal/Non formal
Learning. Rogers (2004)
May June July August September
To enhance learners’ efficacy
To improve learners’ linguistic output
To develop learners’ cultural awareness Byram (1997)
To support learners on their year abroad and to build a community
Objectives
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Audio or video introducing themselves
Role-play (Landlord and Tenant)
Short tasks
Open questions
Sending links or articles to ask them for their opinion
WhatsApp Tasks
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New experiences
and trips
Pre-departure preparation
Personal problems encountered
Hobbies
Accommodation
Cultural issues
Tasks suggested by the tutor
Breaking the Ice
Quantitative Analysis
Monthly participation
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Student A Student B Student C Student D Student E Student F Student G Student H Student I Student J
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
Start Conv.
Six months (May-November)
1222 messages sent
Let’s get started
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Introductions
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Audio recordings
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Abbreviations
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Opening a Bank Account
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Cultural Differences
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Role-play (Tenant & Landlord)
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Weather
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Football
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Feeling ill
Spanish Cinema
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Writing emails
Apologies
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Expanding Vocabulary ¿Cómo se dice?
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Images
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Common Errors
Feedback by Email
Language Sample analysis
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Yes
Keep the Group Alive
Motivation
Time Consuming?
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Feedback
“Personally, I think this is a big concept and it is very interactive. I am a
bit disappointed by myself because I did
not take part as much as I wanted”
“The best part for me was sharing our experiences abroad
and learning with Isa the Spanish
culture”
Feedback
What did you enjoy most?
Speaking and writing in Spanish since I work
teaching English and I found hard to practice
my Spanish here as much.
Why did you join this project?
Because I want to practice my Spanish and
keep in touch with my classmates.
Continue with this group until the end of the academic year
Show learners improvement through language samples and a decrease in their errors
Lessons learnt
Future Directions
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Ashenden, A (2014). ’Year-abroad students say universities don't offer enough support’. The Guardian [online] 15 December available from <http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/dec/15/universities-failing-provide-welfare-support-year-abroad-students> [20 January 2015]
Brick, B. & Cervi-Wilson, T. (2014) WhatsApp: Language Learning on-the-go. LLAS Annual E-Learning Symposium. Held 23-24 January 2014
Byram, M. (1997) Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Clevedon. Multilingual Matters.
Gander, K (2015) ’ WhatsApp for PC: messaging web client now available on internet browsers’. The Independent [online] 21 January available from < http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-now-available-on-web-browsers-9993675.html?cmpid=facebook-post > [21 January 2015]
Gasmi, A (2014) ’ Mobile assisted language learning: potential and limitations of using 'whatsapp' messenger to enhance students writing skills ’ . INTED2014 Proceedings, p. 7243. [online] 12 March available from <http://library.iated.org/view/GASMI2014MOB > [21 January 2015]
Rogers, A. (2004) Non-Formal Education: flexible schooling or participatory education? Hong Kong University Press .
Wlodkowski, R. J (2008) Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn: A Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults. California: John Wiley & Sons.
References
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