learning design

T.MacKinnon, April 2010

Learning design

Embedding online tools in your teaching


Big questions

• What do language teachers do?• Who are our learners?• What beliefs do we hold about how learners

learn?• What is our role in the language learning

process?


What do we do?

CLT:Communicative Language Teaching

PresentationPracticeProduction


Who are our learners?Knowles (1980) proposes Androgogy rather than Pedagogy:

Adult learners:

•Decide for themselves what is important•Use experience to validate information•Expect what they learn to be immediately useful•Have much experience•Have significant ability to act as resource to group


What beliefs do we hold about how learners learn?

Macaro, 2003


Where are you?

transmissioninterpretation

At the interpretation end, the tutor is concerned to train the learner to become autonomous in language acquisition, more in tune with a constructivist view.

At the transmission end of this continuum tutors would have positivist views that learning is achieved through the transmission of objective reality. They would see mastery and internalisation of language structure and form to be the learner’s goal.

Wright, 1987


Digital revolution


Issues affecting technology use

• Affective factors (Arnold, 1999)• Tutor expertise (CALL study)• Lack of engagement (Lurkers!)• Transfer of control • Constructivism


Lewis’ Lexical Approach•Intensive and extensive listening and reading in the targetlanguage.• First and second language comparisons and translation—carried out chunk-for-chunk, rather than word-for-word—aimed at raising language awareness.• Repetition and recycling of activities, such as summarizinga text orally one day and again a few days later to keep wordsand expressions that have been learned active.• Guessing the meaning of vocabulary items from context.• Noticing and recording language patterns and collocations.•Working with dictionaries and other reference tools.•Working with language corpuses created by the teacher for usein the classroom or accessible on the Internet


Krashen’s Natural Approach

Comprehensible input

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K11o19YNvk


The seven hypotheses for constructivist language learning (Chapelle, 1998) :

•The linguistic characteristics of target language input need to be made salient•Learners should receive help in comprehending semantic and syntactic aspects of linguistic input•Learners need to have opportunities to produce target language output•Learners need to notice errors in their own input•Learners need to correct their linguistic output•Learners need to engage in target language interaction whose structure can be modified for negotiation of meaning•Learners should engage in L2 tasks designed to maximise opportunities for good interaction


Lewis proposes a new model:

observe

hypothesiseexperiment


Online tools can provide:

•New affordances (eg. asynchronous conversation)•Innovation, wow factor (see Barnes and Murray, 1998)•Re-location of some of your lesson content•Facilitation of some activities (assessment, drill, real language use)•Opportunity to connect with learners

But be aware:

The changes you make may change you!


Further readingArnold, J. ed., 1999. Affect in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.

Benson, P. and Voller, P. eds., 1997. Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning London: Addison Wesley Longman Ltd.

Conole, G. and Oliver, M. eds., 2007. Contemporary Perspectives in E-learning Research. Oxen: Routledge.

JISC. 2007. Student Expectations Study. Downloaded from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/studentexpectations.pdf

Klapper, J. 2006. Understanding and developing good practice. Language teaching in Higher Education. London:CILT.

Richards, J. and Rodgers, T. 2001. Approaches and methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP.

Wright, T., 1987. Roles of Teachers and Learners. Oxford: OUP.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/studentexpectations.pdf

learning design

Technology