Achieving the ying-yang in language learning and teaching in virtual worlds
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This document discusses achieving a balance ("ying-yang") between traditional and innovative approaches to language learning and teaching in virtual worlds. It outlines some traditional beliefs held by students and teachers, and how these differ from the mindsets of a "digital student" and "digital teacher". The document then examines how simulations and other language teaching methods can be adapted from the real world to virtual worlds like Second Life, highlighting the need to explicitly define objectives, provide feedback, and engage learners actively while taking advantage of the virtual environment. Overall it argues for blending traditional and innovative methods to fully realize the potential of virtual worlds for language education.
Achieving the ying-yang in language learning and teaching in virtual worlds
- 1. ACHIEVING THE YING-YANG IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS Cristina Palomeque Joan-Tomàs Pujolà 43rd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL IATEFL CONFERENCE CARDIFF 31ST MARCH - 4TH APRIL 2009
- 2. contents Context & Beliefs Students’ & Teachers’ backpacks Digital Student & digital teacher MUVEs as VLEs Language teaching in SL Simulations
- 3. context
- 4. serious game not a videogame
- 5. SL - as a VLE Multimodal communication Sense of presence Social dimension Interaction: environment, objects,
- 6. beliefs “psychologically held understandings, premises, or prepositions about the world that are felt to be true” Richardson 1996
- 7. sts’ backpack: beliefs Beliefs may have a profound influence on learning behavior. (Cotterall, 1995) Learners’ belief systems cover a wide range of issues and can influence learners’ motivation to learn, their expectations about language learning, their perceptions about what is easy or difficult about language, as well as the kind of learning strategies they favor. (Richards & Lockhart, 1996:52)
- 8. Sts’ comments - I would like a class that prepared for tests like the TOEFL test - I don’t think it is useful to speak with other students if the teacher is not listening / work in groups - the classes I like best + experimental with VLE are grammar related - The environment is fantastic - A stimulating and enjoyable way to learn a language + Traditional - Props and scenes helped me remember the vocabulary
- 10. T’s backpack: beliefs Teachers’ deep-rooted beliefs about how language are learned will prevade their classroom actions more than a particular methodology they are told to adopt or coursebook they follow. (Williams & Burden, 1997)
- 11. T’s comments Today I could have used the SL environment more. I would not have liked to use it as if it were Skype because SL offers much more. What I find most challenging about SL is that I don’t We had a lot of fun in class because know how sts feel sts were very engaged in the task about the tasks. I and afterwards we had a very interesting discussion about their cannot ‘read’ their learning preferences. faces.
- 12. Digital Teacher Digital Student
- 13. Traditional - expects teachers to pour knowledge - is dependent on the teacher - feels safer with grammar lessons - prefers routines to unexpected situations Digital Student - builds knowledge through interaction with teacher & peers - knows how to work autonomously - enjoys engaging in meaningful lang. tasks - is open to the unexpected - enjoys learning by “playing” Innovative
- 14. Traditional - transferring methodology from the real life class, either grammar-based or CLT-based - not exploiting the MUVE potential enough - having a “digital accent” Digital Teacher - experimenting new MUVE methodology - exploiting the MUVE to find its learning potential and effectiveness - thinking as a “digital native” Innovative
- 15. Type of Ts & Sts in SL
- 16. language teaching in SL Course: - integrative skills - experiential learning - situational - virtual immersion
- 17. language teaching in SL Independent modules: -separate skills (conversation practise) - separate language systems (grammar lessons)
- 18. Objectives - not explicit enough? Learner/teacher training for language learning in a MUVE simulations
- 19. Simulations in the FL class situational PBL / CLIL / learning by doing not a role-play cognitive challenge different type of assessment
- 21. Adapting traditional simulations to language learning in MUVEs briefing simulation debriefing explicit language informative feedback objectives enabling tasks
- 22. To achieve the ying-yang provide informative exploit the “gaming” feedback dimension make objectives engage explicit learners actively train learner & teacher consider learners’ beliefs take advantage revisit your of the MUVE own beliefs
- 23. Cristina Palomeque cpalomeq@xtec.cat Joan-Tomàs Pujolà jtpujola@ub.edu