Glocall (28-30 Nov) Da Nang (Vietnam)

CALL and blended learning: Are the students really autonomous?

Keywords: CALL, teacher intervention, scaffolding

In a context of precariousness of Modern Foreign Languages and promotion of CALL at national level, often referred to as “technology-enhanced learning”, the targeted institution, a “new” university in the United Kingdom, offers an Institution-Wide Language Programme where modules are presented as a blended learning package of face-to-face sessions coupled with the use of the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment.
At a time when universities consider students’ feedback and the quality of their learning with care, the presenter sought students’ views on their experience of Blackboard as part of their classes in elementary French.
96 students agreed to participate in this research, conducted with a Vygostkian perspective and through a mixed-method approach involving questionnaires and follow-up interviews.
In this paper, I will provide key findings of the study, which include the difficulties faced by participants in their application of digital skills for formal learning and their preference to be guided by lecturers. Recommendations will be made to enhance students’ engagement with CALL for blended learning.

slides
questionnaire
interview questions
references

Eurocall 2013 (11-14 Sept) Evora (Portugal)

Hello,

here is the abstract for my poster presentation at Eurocall Evora.

Language learning in Virtual Environments: What do the students think?

Keywords: student experience, learner autonomy, CALL

In a context of precariousness of Modern Foreign Languages and promotion of e-learning at national level, often referred to as “technology-enhanced learning”, the targeted institution, a “new” university in the United Kingdom, offers an Institution-Wide Language Programme where language classes are presented as a blended learning package of face-to-face sessions coupled with the use of Blackboard. 
At a time when the students’ feedback and the quality of their learning experience are considered with care by institutions of Higher Education, beginners and post-beginners of French at this institution took part in a study focusing on their experience of CALL for blended learning. 
This study was conducted with a reflective practice perspective and involved a mixed- method approach based on the completion of 96 questionnaires and six follow-up interviews.
This poster presents key issues reported by students and includes recommendations for improved pedagogical practice and enhanced student engagement.

student self-completion questionnaire

interview questions

list of references

Presentation at EUROCALL Nottingham 2011

Integrating Virtual Learning Environments into Blended Learning Courses: The Necessary Evolution of Pedagogical Practices

Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom are seen to make an ever-increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies for a variety of purposes and Virtual Learning Environments are an important feature of these developments, in a context of initiatives such as “Routes into Languages” and the ten-year e-learning strategy launched in 2005, and revised in 2009, by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. In addition, the students’ experience has been placed high on the agenda, with implications for pedagogical practices.
This paper will highlight the necessity for the evolution of pedagogical practices in order to boost the integration of Virtual Learning Environments into blended learning courses, using socio-constructivist principles and results of a phenomenological study conducted among students registered for blended learning courses on an Institution-Wide Language Programme. Recommendations will be made regarding the role to be played by lecturers towards the normalisation of Virtual Learning Environments for blended learning.

Slides
Student self-completion questionnaire
Interview questions
List of references

Please email me if you wish to give me some feedback on this presentation.