Annick Rivens Mompean

The development of meaningful interactions on a blog used for the learning of english as a foreign language

The use of a blog as a pedagogical aid for the learning of foreign languages is gaining support among teachers’ communities (Soubrie, 2006 ; Tome, 2007 ) as it can help students develop online interactions and authentic productions. The current study is analysing the use of such a multimedia setting in a group of Master’s students in France, studying English as a Foreign Language, who had to keep a blog in groups of three or four, dealing with a specific topic of their interest. The introduction of such a tool was meant to motivate learners to practise written expression with an added value: the authenticity of the posted message, aimed not only at the teacher and the learning community but also made visible to the outside world. The aim of this article is to measure the pedagogical added value of such a blog for the development of written expression more specifically, and to see the potential to transform a real activity which is well-known to the younger learners’ community 1 into a learning activity for the learning of English. The aims are in agreement with the principles of the Common European Framework of References for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001 ), which establishes specific goals for language learners with the implementation of ICT: task-based learning, authentic interactions or collaborative learning (Wenger, 1998 ). Three main aspects have been considered in this article: (i) a description of the way the interactions take place on the blog; (ii) an analysis of the motivating factors for such a publication online; (iii) reflection on the role of the tutor and on the place for feedback. A quantitative analysis of the interactions shows that the project is quite successful in terms of participation, as there are more posts on average than required in the pedagogical contract. Yet there are some disparities, concerning the level of activity from one blog to another and among the participants, that can be related to the role they undertake within the blog (do they prefer to post messages or comments, who are these for and why are they posted?) and to their level of motivation. Qualitatively, the project is also positively perceived: although the blog is not considered as a “real-life” one (the activity is perceived as a pedagogical one), the interactions are meaningful because they make sense for the learners who are fully engaged in the writing process and in the interactions. Finally, the place for feedback needs to be discussed, as the corrections online, although described as necessary, are also very often perceived as inhibiting and appear to be a critical element of the project.

Pronouncing English in Brazil

The impact and implications of British and American pronunciation models in South Americas largest country

Role taking for teletandem pairs involved in multimodal online conversation: Some proposals for counseling practice

Abstract In this article we consider how the roles of learner and teacher are configured in a teletandem exchange between two students working in a university language centre with no external tutor present. Teletandem is a multilateral exchange (Lewis et al. 2011) via desktop videoconferencing. It is based on the tandem method, where two learners with different mother tongues learn each other’s language through multimodal online interaction. It relies on learner autonomy and reciprocity, which means that every learner is supposed to be half of the time learner of one language and half of the time expert in the other. Our study shows that teletandem partners assume expert and learner roles not only in relation to the language spoken, but also according to the topic discussed, generating what we call “crossed expertise”. Moreover, we identify different degrees in the use of multimodality. These findings help us to understand how roles are constructed in a self-guided language learning environment and in this way contribute to the improvement of tandem learning arrangements and the design of tandem learning environments.

Teletandem as a complex learning environment: Looking for a model

This article presents a model of teletandem, i.e. tandem through desktop videoconferencing (Telles 2009). The aim of such a model is twofold: heuristic and pedagogical. It is heuristic because it enables us to understand teletandem at all its levels and partially to predict (in probabilistic terms) what can happen in a teletandem environment. It is also pedagogical because it helps us formulate plans of action to improve future use and environment design. To build this model, we have drawn upon complexity theory (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron 2008, Morin 1990), which leads us to distinguish different levels of analysis before discussing the relationship between the different elements and levels leading to the complex fi nal (yet dynamic) model.

From the development of online resources to their local appropriation: a case study

Sharing resources questions the capacity of different institutions to collaborate in a meaningful way. Different steps in the sharing process are to be taken into account as we contend that teaching resources, despite their intrinsic qualities, can remain unexploited otherwise. The present contribution proposes to study both the development of online resources, the challenges that are posed once the created resources are meant to be used by partner institutions, and the ways they can be integrated into the local contexts, It aims at understanding the process involved in an online learning environment designed for the learning of English, originally created for a specific local audience, and ultimately replicated in several universities. We will distinguish phases to be respected for a successful sharing experience, during the development and appropriation phases, in order to favour the dissemination of innovation in a university context.

Interactions plurielles d'étudiants en autoformation guidée et autonomisation Interactions and Autonomization of Students in a Guided Self-Learning Environment

Nous interrogeons les formes d’interactions des apprenants dans un parcours d’autoapprentissage guide en langues. Le dispositif comprend un centre de ressources en langues, des entretiens et un journal de bord reflexif sur leurs activites dont certaines visent des interactions : tandem, reseaux sociaux, etc. A partir de questionnaires et d’extraits de journaux de bord, nous proposons une typologie des interactions qui nous conduit d’une part a interroger les apprentissages formels, non formels ou informels, d’autre part a relier ces interactions aux differentes categories de l’autonomisation : autodirection, planification et choix des ressources, autoregulation et choix des strategies, autoevaluation. We analyze the way interactions take place among learners in a self-directed language learning environment. It gathers a language learning centre, individual interviews and a reflexive learning journal describing their activities, which may include interactions such as tandem, social networks, etc. We rely on questionnaires and learning journal extracts that help us build a typology of interactions. This leads us to discuss the notion of formal, informal and non-formal learning and to associate these interactions with several categories for the development of autonomy: self-direction, planning and choosing resources, self-regulation and choice of strategies and self-evaluation.