Where MOOCs won't do: the affordances of Telecollaboration for language learning online

Sake Jager, manager eLearning / lecturer Applied Linguistics

University of Groningen

Innovation in Foreign Language Teaching, Krakow19-20 September 2014

Sake JagerPeter de Groot

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Where MOOCs won’t do: the affordances of telecollaboration for language learning online

Outline› Open Education (OE)

• MOOCS• Open Educational Resources• OE for language learning

› Telecollaboration (TC)• What is TC?• INTENT/UNICollaboration• Benefits for language learning• Challenges

› Linking TC and OE› Conclusion

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Where horses won’t do:the affordances of dairy cows for milk production in the Netherlands

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NY Times, 11-12-2013

TechCrunch, 11-09-2014

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More realistic views of MOOCs› It’s not primarily about:

• course completion• access to the non-privileged

› Face-to-face, on campus may be better› Potential acknowledged:

“the content developed has tremendous potential to advance students’ critical thinking and problem solving abilities.” “Udacity has brought to the table ways to make courses more inquiry-based and added real-life context.” http://www.sjsu.edu/chemistry/People/Faculty/Collins_Research_Page/AOLE%20Report%20-September%2010%202013%20final.pdf

› Not a replacement of, but complement to on-site courses

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MOOCs for language learning (EUROCALL2014)› UNED (Madrid):

• English vocabulary learning in preparation of reading• Rubén Chacón-Beltrán

› OU (UK):• Language and employability skills French• Tita Beaven

› University of Limerick:• Language learning potential of regular MOOCs• Liam Murray

› Open University Catalunia, University of Barcelona:• Connecting speakers of English and Spanish with NSs

through SpeakApps• Cristine Appel, Joan-Tomas Pujolá

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Models for language learning

› xMOOC: instructivist, knowledge-transmission › cMOOC: constructivist, connectivist (Downes

and Siemens)› cMOOC preferred for language learning• collaboration and interaction• ‘guide on the side’ rather than ‘sage on the

stage’› New role for automated feedback› Opportunities for meaningful interaction

lacking or add-on in many MOOCs

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Open Education in general

OER(materials)

OCW (materials in

context)

Open Courses (materials in context with

peers and teachers)

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› Progression, but one is not necessarily better than other

› Long tradition of sharing in CALL› Linked to other disciplines through channels such as:

• MIT OCW: http://ocw.mit.edu • CMU Open Learning Initiative: http://oli.cmu.edu/• Connexions: http://cnx.org/• Merlot: http://www.merlot.org/

• Specific for languages: e.g. LangOER (http://langOER.eun.org)

• Parallel: Open source, WEB 2.0 and cloud computing

Telecollaboration› Learners from geographically distant locations

work together on learning tasks or projects using technology tools

› Aka: Online intercultural exchange, virtual exchange

› INTENT Project (http://www.intent-project.eu) :• Carry out a study of Telecollaboration in European

HEI’s• Develop tools & platform to support Telecollaboration

in European HEIs (http://www.unicollaboration.eu) • Identify and develop strategies for Integration of TC• Provide training through workshops & online

resources

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Well-known models› eTandem:

• Brammerts et al• http://

www.slf.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/etandem/etindex-en.html

• Late 90s/early 20s• Two (or more) languages• Focus on language• Autonomy and reciprocity• Primarily email

› Cultura:• Fürstenberg et al• http://cultura.mit.edu/• Late 90s/early 20s• Two (or more) languages• Focus on culture• Interacting and

communicating in foreign language

• Questionnaires, films, articles, online forums

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Competences and configurations

› Competences:• Foreign language

skills• Intercultural

communication• eLiteracy• Subject knowledge

› Configurations:• Tandem• Lingua franca• Teacher-education

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Telecollaboration and mobility› Mobility is important for personal development and

employability, it fosters respect for diversity and a capacity to deal with other cultures. It encourages linguistic pluralism, thus underpinning the multilingual tradition of the European Higher Education Area and it increases cooperation and competition between higher education institutions

› In 2020, at least 20% of those graduating in the European Higher Education Area should have had a study or training period abroad.– Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education,

Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve, 28-29 April 2009

› Only 1% students on Erasmus grants in 2011/12; if successful, 80% left without experience

eTwinning: http://www.etwinning.net

VMCOLAB:http://vmcolab.eu/

PROVIPhttp://provip.eu/

Overall benefits (INTENT)› For students: to develop their FL competences,

intercultural awareness and electronic literacies› For university educators: to open up their

classrooms, allow for authentic communication and project work and to develop an international network of collaborators

› For mobility officers: to prepare for physical mobility or to offer an alternative to physical mobility

› For university management: ‘low cost’ internationalisation strategy, open up new university partnerships

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Critical aspects of SLA

› Meaningful, task-based interaction› Authenticity and motivation› Negotiation of meaning and focus on form› Task-design is crucial for making the most of

these aspects› Example: • Chain stories task on UNICollaboration site• http://uni-collaboration.eu/?q=node/840

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TC in ELC programme Groningen › Teaching and learning innovation in European Languages

and Cultures (ELC)› Telecollaboration project should:

• Increase number of hours for (oral) interaction in L2 • Enhance intercultural awareness and competences• Prepare for study abroad

› Part of assessed course work› Study abroad network (Erasmus) used for stable

partnerships› Pilots for Spanish, Italian, French in 2013-2014› Structural use from 2014 on

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Overview projectsSpanish French ItalianUniversitat de Barcelona Université de Strasbourg Università degli Studi di

Padova

UB: Joan Tomas PujoláUG: Gerdientje Oggel Carolina Fernández Royón Juan Alba Duran

US: Wouter van der Veen Tiemen de JongeUG: Simone Koster Judith Jansma

UP: Heleen MertensUG: Maaike Dicke

Teacher educationUB: pre-service, UG: Spanish

TandemUS: Dutch, UG: French

TandemUP: Dutch, UG: Italian

c. 25 students each c. 15 students each c. 7 students each

Blackboard (VLE, journals, email, etc)Blackboard CollaborateWeb 2.0 (Glogster, etc.)

Blackboard (VLE, journals, email, etc)FacebookSkype, Skype recorder

Blackboard (VLE, journals, email, etc)Google HangoutsOnline movies

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Evidence-based practice› E.g. research by Jauregi et al:

• Greater growth in oral skills than in traditional teaching

• Videoconferencing group; Second Life group -Silvia Canto, Kristi Jauregi and Huub van den Bergh (2013). Integrating cross-cultural interaction through video-communication and virtual worlds in foreign language teaching programs: is there an added value?. ReCALL, 25, pp 105-121. doi:10.1017/S0958344012000274.

› NIFLAR project: http://niflar.eu/ › TILA project: http://tilaproject.wordpress.com/

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Some tools for TC › Communication

• Email• Chat• Skype• Google Hangouts• Voicethread• SpeakApps VideoChat• FlashMeeting• Adobe Connect• Blackboard Collaborate

› Collaboration• PBWorks• Storybird• Prezi

› Presentation• Glogster• About.me• Sliderocket

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See also: http://uni-collaboration.eu/?q=node/440 (Gosia Kurek)

Telecollaboration and Open Education

› Interrelated and mutually supporting› UNICollaboration platform: open resource for

sharing projects, tasks and finding partners› Web 2.0 tools: free, cloud-based, useful for TC› SpeakApps: open source, free tools, OER task

database› MOOCs: complementary uses for cognitive

aspects, ‘knowledge clips’, automated feedback

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Conclusion

› TC has a lot to offer for language learning› Language teachers should follow OE

principles to enhance visibility and quality› Management should recognize importance and

work towards integration in curriculum› MOOCs may have a complementary role and

combine aspects of TC and OE (cf. Appel and Pujolá)

› Promote online intercultural exchange as Open Educational Practice

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Thank you for your attention!

Sake Jagers.jager@rug.nlhttp://www.rug.nl/staff/s.jager