Mats Deutschmann

Designing oral participation in second life – a comparative study of two language proficiency courses

The following paper presents two stages of an action research project involving two oral proficiency courses held in the virtual world Second Life. Course 1 was conducted during the Autumn of 2007. Based on the experiences of this course, we redesigned many aspects of it in order to improve student activity in terms of oral participation and gave the course again in Spring 2008. By analysing the recordings of four 90-minute sessions, two from each course, we were able to measure student participation based on floor space, turn lengths and turn-taking patterns, and in the study we discuss how different changes in design may have contributed to more favourable outcomes. Results seem to indicate that meaning focussed task design, which involves authenticity and collaborative elements, has a direct impact on learner participation and engagement. Furthermore, our results seem to suggest that technical and social initiations into a complex environment such as SL are important factors that have to be worked into the course design.

Talking into empty space? Signalling involvement in a virtual language classroom in Second Life

In this study, we compare the first and the last sessions from an online oral proficiency course aimed at doctoral students conducted in the virtual world Second Life. The study attempts to identify how supportive moves made by the teacher encourage learners to engage with language, and what type of linguistic behaviour in the learners leads to engagement in others. We compare overall differences in terms of floor space and turn-taking patterns, and also conduct a more in-depth discourse analysis of parts of the sessions focusing on supportive moves such as back-channelling and elicitors. There are indications that the supportive linguistic behaviour of teachers is important in increasing learner engagement. In our study we are also able to observe a change in student linguistic behaviour between the first and the last sessions with students becoming more active in signalling involvement as the course progresses. Finally, by illustrating some of the language awareness issues that arise in online environments, we hope to contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of online communication.

Supporting Learner Reflection in the Language Translation Class

In a case study a University class undertook a translation from Swedish to English in a keystroke logging environment and then replayed their translations in pairs while discussing their thought processes when undertaking the translations, and why they made particular choices and changes to their translations. Computer keystroke logging coupled with peer-based intervention assisted the students in discussing how they worked with their translations, and enabled them to see how their ideas relating to the translation developed as they worked with the text. The process showed that Computer Keystroke logging coupled with peer-based intervention has potential to (1) support student reflection and discussion around their translation tasks, and (2) enhance student motivation and enthusiasm for translation.

Social variation in the use of apology formulae in the British National Corpus

This paper explores sociolinguistic variation in the frequency of apologising in the spoken part of the British National Corpus. The starting point for the investigation is the apology formula, rep ...

Debating Across Borders

Internationally, virtual world environments such as Second Life® (SL) have become accepted as platforms for innovative educational activities at many universities in recent years. One such activity ...This chapter discusses the application of a transactional approach to educational design. Its purpose is to describe how such an approach could be applied to a thesis course. To fulfill this purpose the chapter unfolds by indicating that the practice of supervision faces challenges from changes in society. Technology-enhanced participation in supervision is one answer to these challenges. Inspired by scholars such as Bakhtin, Dewey, and Vygotsky the applied transactional approach expands on ideas such as dialogues and educational settings. The implementation of these ideas into the educational design intersects within two principles, group-work, and open and public exchanges of information. The transactional approach is then illustrated with the help of a first-year undergraduate thesis course in the discipline of Education.Informed Design of Educational Technologies in Higher Education: Enhanced Learning and Teaching presents recent and important theoretical and practical advances in educational technology design in higher education, examining their possibilities for enhancing teaching and learning. This volume includes discussions of technologies and applications grounded in legitimate learning theories and from an ethical perspective that emphasizes mutual understanding.

Who Owns the Floor?: Examining Participation in a Collaborative Learning Scenario Between Student Teachers and Active Professionals in Second Life

This study investigates the effects of unequal power relations on participation in a group of student teachers and invited professionals in two collaborative workshops in Second Life. The data includes recordings, group reflections, and individual questionnaires. Participation was examined from the aspects of floor space, turn length, and utterance functions and complemented with student reflections. The results show that at a general level, the differences of floor space and turn length between the invited professionals and the students were small. Moreover, the invited professionals did more conversational management than the students, while the students performed more supportive speech acts. There were, however, individual variations.