Search results

1

USING LEGO BLOCKS FOR TECHNOLOGY-MEDIATED TASK-BASED ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

100%

Gadomska A.

Teaching English with Technology

|

2015

|

vol. 15

|

issue 2

120-132

EN

Lego blocks have been played with by generations of children worldwide since the 1950s. It is undeniable that they boost creativity, eye-hand coordination, focus, planning, problem solving and many other skills. Lego bricks have been also used by educators across the curricula as they are extremely motivating and engaging and, in effect, make learning effective. The toy has developed with time, as a result of technology impact as well as users’ needs and expectations. This paper describes the transformation of the use of Lego based activity in the academic writing class in the Institute of English Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Poland spanning a period of the last seven years. Originally, the author’s idea was just to illustrate in theory the principle of cohesion and coherence on the example of Lego composition instruction, a concept described by Joseph Williams; however, it evolved into a highly successful technology mediated task-based activity. The activity has been conducted since 2008 and in the author’s newest 2014/15 version, it involves online writing, digital photography, computer editing programs, animation, e-learning tools and blogging; it boosts, apart from the above mentioned skills, writing, reading, teamwork and IT skills. Its teaching/ learning success results also from its multimodality, learner empowerment and authenticity. Moreover, the case illustrates teacher development due to both external and internal class factors, including the impact of learners’ competence and skills on the transformation of the activity itself and the resulting teacher training. Finally, the paper focuses on the role of the fast changing ICT technology in the development and adjustment of the English language learning task, the task based on the innovative use of Lego blocks in teaching academic skills to the students of the English studies program.

2

ESP LEARNER SELF-GENERATED FEEDBACK AS A TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED TASK

88%

Plastina A. F.

Teaching English with Technology

|

2015

|

vol. 15

|

issue 2

54-66

EN

In Higher Education, feedback is still largely implemented as an external teacher-centred practice, which has been found to be irrelevant in improving students’ language learning. This paper advocates that internal, or self-generated feedback, has a potential role to play in learners’ formative processes under the condition that it is implemented as a task-based activity enhanced by suitable technological tools. In an experimental study, learners were engaged in the task of creating screencasts, or digital audio-visual recordings, of oral medical reports for authentic professional purposes. The study surveyed the kind of knowledge restructuring processes learners activated as a result of self-generated feedback enhanced by screencast technology. It also sought to understand learners’ perceptions of the experience. Results show that learners used different digital tools for knowledge restructuring leading to readjustment of their initial performances. Screencasts were thus effective in heightened learners’ awareness of the gap between their current weaknesses and their expected goals and in taking necessary action to narrow this gap. Learner perceptions further recorded a positive impact of self-generated feedback enhanced by screencasts, suggesting major motivation and interest in learning.

3

ESP LEARNER SELF-GENERATED FEEDBACK AS A TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED TASK

88%

Plastina A. F.

Teaching English with Technology

|

2015

|

vol. 15

|

issue 2

106-118

EN

In Higher Education, feedback is still largely implemented as an external teacher-centred practice, which has been found to be irrelevant in improving students’ language learning. This paper advocates that internal, or self-generated feedback, has a potential role to play in learners’ formative processes under the condition that it is implemented as a task-based activity enhanced by suitable technological tools. In an experimental study, learners were engaged in the task of creating screencasts, or digital audio-visual recordings, of oral medical reports for authentic professional purposes. The study surveyed the kind of knowledge restructuring processes learners activated as a result of self-generated feedback enhanced by screencast technology. It also sought to understand learners’ perceptions of the experience. Results show that learners used different digital tools for knowledge restructuring leading to readjustment of their initial performances. Screencasts were thus effective in heightened learners’ awareness of the gap between their current weaknesses and their expected goals and in taking necessary action to narrow this gap. Learner perceptions further recorded a positive impact of self-generated feedback enhanced by screencasts, suggesting major motivation and interest in learning.

Refine search results

3 Teaching English with Technology

2 Plastina A. F.

1 Gadomska A.

3 2015

USING LEGO BLOCKS FOR TECHNOLOGY-MEDIATED TASK-BASED ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

ESP LEARNER SELF-GENERATED FEEDBACK AS A TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED TASK

ESP LEARNER SELF-GENERATED FEEDBACK AS A TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED TASK