1,721,029 research outputs found
University student perceptions of English language study changes: reactions to remote emergency teaching during the COVID-19 emergency
No full textThe implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in many institutions has led to radical changes in both teaching and studying approaches in Higher Education institutions worldwide. This pilot study examines the changes in study strategies from the first to the second term in the 2019–2020 academic year in the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Verona. A survey was conducted with a group of 19 language students, all of whom studied English as a foreign language. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of both closed and open-ended questions, as part of a mixed methods study of their perceptions of ways in which their learning strategies had changed from the first to the second term. They were also asked to identify which elements of the ERT experience they considered effective. The aim of the study was primarily to examine the changing strategies with an eye to determining elements to be integrated into our pedagogical approach in the future: to establish which factors had been positive and where the problems lay. This paper focuses mainly on the findings from the qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions section of the questionnaire, which underline the changes that came about as a consequence of the emergency. Whilst many strategies remained the same, a positive evaluation of the blending of asynchronous online resources with synchronous online lessons held in video-conferencing contexts also emerged. A partially mixed message, however, was noted. This was because, despite their endorsement of social interaction when studying in groups during streamed lessons, a preference for “studying alone” to prepare for their exams was also highlighted by participants
Fram Text to Translation and Back Again
No full textThis book explores the relationship between discourse analysis and translation. Being able to analyse language, from a functional linguistic viewpoint, enables us to grow closer to that text. This book explores the notion of what a successful text is and from this point moves on to consider what a successful translation might be
A Dove in Flight’ Agency in 21st Century Language Learning
No full textLearner agency is a term which has attracted considerable attention in academic circles. A rapid search for ‘learner agency’ on the Google Scholar search engine, in fact, returned 41,100 results (from 2016-2020) in under one second. What agency means for a learner will be considered below in greater depth. Beliefs about the learners role in the learning process can be placed alone a broad continuum. At one end there is the belief that the teacher’s role is to dispense knowledge and the learners’ a largely recpetive one. Larsen-Freeman ( 2019), in fact, makes the point that in language learning ‘perceptions of language learners as nonagentive persist. At the other end of the continuum are those who promote informal learning. A search for this term, in fact, on Google Scholar returned 128,000 results (from 2016-2020) in less than a second. Informal learning is generally linked to learning which takes place outside institutional settings and is increasingly linked with digital learning. (Godwin-Jones, 2018). Some even promote the idea that learners should be left to their own devices, taking complete responsibility for their learning (Mitra, 2013) or point out the fact that learning often takes place despite the teaching informally rather than because of it.(Holliday, 2013). If learning takes place informally, in fact, in such a way, the methodology being used by the teacher may be considered to be of little importance but the aim of this discussion is to argue the opposite, which is that precisely because learner agency is a crucial factor in learning then educators who are aware of this and are able to foster it, will be better able to mediate learning in their classes
Integrating the Formative and Summative Post Covid-19 in a Blended Learning Approach to Higher Educational Assessment
Full text linkThe response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, reflecting a general move towards remote working, has been overwhelmingly one of turning to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) described as a “temporary solution to an immediate problem” (Bozkurt and Sharma 2020, ii). ERT is often seen from a negative viewpoint, linked to a reactive approach to teaching (Golden 2020; Murphy 2020) with a lack of planning or expertise. This means of delivery, however, has also taught us many lessons, some of which may provide us with new opportunities and ways of working in the future (Hodges et al. 2020; Hartle 2020; Thomas et al. 2021). When considering the assessment of language competence one of these lessons is that formative assessment is more appropriate to asynchronous, online contexts and summative assessment is suited rather to the synchronous, face to face spaces. In Higher Education (HE) contexts in the past summative assessment has generally been conducted in person, in a physical context because of concerns related to exam security (Nusche 2008; Pachler et al. 2010). The challenge now, where online teaching is increasingly becoming part and parcel of the educational repertoire, however, is to integrate both the formative and the summative in a new form of blended learning (BL) for the future. This is a future where the approach to teaching in online digital contexts both synchronously and asynchronously will no longer be ERT but a principled, planned approach to combining the digital with the traditional
From learner corpus to data-driven learning (DDL) in EAP writing. Improving lexical usage in academic writing
No full textDespite considerable discussion in the literature (Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001; Hyland, 1998; Tang, 2012) competent English academic writing is still a problem which needs to be solved. English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching often focuses on specialized lexis, which may, however, be the area where academic writers need least help. The study of a small corpus of C2 level academic writing which consisted of the sub-genres of summary and discussion writing revealed that one key area which is problematic is collocation. This paper presents the results of this small corpus investigation into learner language and how it informed the classroom implementation of data-driven learning (DDL) to increase learner awareness of and ability to use collocations effectively in written academic English. The article briefly describes the corpus and the resulting teaching procedure adopted. The first step of this procedure is familiarization followed by experimentation using Sketch Engine (SkeLL)
CEFR and language learning 15 years on: From university to firm dubbing
No full textThe paper overviews the state of the art of the Common European Framework fifteen years after its introduction in 2001, bearing in mind that the focus had gradually moved from knowledge about languages and language systems to performance, skills, and what different individuals “can do” at various levels. The authors bring the example of the teaching of English at the University of Verona and conclude with hints and suggestions to further ameliorate ELT, touching on the exposure to English through the medium of film
B1 Online Cambridge - CRUI Course, 24 Grammar Units
No full textIl corso Cambridge CRUI B1 Online e' stato:
- specificatamente studiato per migliorare l'inglese degli studenti universitari italiani
- sviluppato in collaborazione con autori ELT leader in Italia
- verificato da consulenti specializzati CRUI
- sperimentato con successo dalle universita' italiane
Cosi' come strutturato a seguito di test e revisioni B1 Online e':
- un corso di lingua inglese interattivo online e in presenza basato sullo sviluppo di tutte le capacita' linguistiche: lettura, scrittura, ascolto e lingua parlata
completamente allineato al Quadro Comune Europeo di Riferimento per le Lingue (CEFR)
COME FUNZIONA
La struttura del corso, studiata per soddisfare le necessita' di apprendimento degli studenti universitari, si compone di:
- 75 ore di autoapprendimento online: gli studenti effettuano il login da casa o utilizzando le strutture universitarie
- 25 ore di insegnamento in presenza
- risorse interattive online
- feedback istantaneo e test sui progressi
CARATTERISTICHE E VANTAGGI
Il corso e' composto da 24 moduli studiati per essere adatti agli studenti delle universita' italiane.
Gli studenti durante tutto il corso possono accedere ai file grammaticali e ai risultati dei test.
La disposizione dei campi di testo rende immediata la consultazione delle sezioni del modulo gia' completate.
ATTIVITA' E FEEDBACK
B1 Online e' gestito da un software che permette allo studente di:
- Immettere il testo
- Trascinare e incollare il testo
- Trascinare e incollare le immagini
- Tracciare delle linee di collegamento
- Sistemare il testo
- Sistemare le immagini
- Cliccare per selezionare
- Operare scelte multiple
- Utilizzare i menu a discesa
- Spuntare le voci in una griglia
- Evidenziare
- Etichettare le voci
- Raggruppare le immagini o il testo
- Modificare liberamente il testo
- Registrare la propria vocale
- Affrontare compito di memorizzazione
- Avere accesso al vocabolario dell'unita'
- Avere accesso alla grammatica dell'unita
Learner Autonomy: One Road to Creating L2 Learner Communities
No full textThe classroom is its own cityscape and this paper explores the communities that can be created in a classroom context and how materials that are created which are relevant to that community can be highly successful pedagogical artefacts
Universal Design for Learning with reference to English language teaching in Italian Higher Education
No full textThis position paper aims to reflect on the planning of language teaching in the Italian Higher Education institutions of the future. The COVID- 19 emergency has enabled us to re-evaluate, to some extent, existing practices with the aim of developing new approaches that integrate the best practices of the past with the innovation afforded by technology in a principled blended learning approach to language teaching in the future. We present a pedagogical model, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), that may be adapted to suit local needs with an eye towards communication and inclusion, providing frameworks for each learner to develop in the most advantageous way possible. Learners, who are largely users of English as a Lingua Franca, need to develop their communicative competence above all and, to this aim, intercultural communication competence for interaction in global arenas is of paramount importance
Comparing Teacher and Learner Perceptions of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT)
Full text linkAs a result of the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT), changes occurring both inside and outside virtual classrooms have led to discussions of the possibly detrimental effects of digital pedagogies on learning (Hodges et al. 2020). The challenges faced by the educational community during this time have been addressed on multiple occasions (Ferri, Grifoni and Guzzo 2020, Ferritti 2020, Maldonado and De Witte 2021), yet debate also exists around the “transformative” potential of ERT (Reimers et al. 2020). The move to this format has, in fact, created new teaching and learning spaces, and the many lessons to be learned from this situation will reveal themselves in time to come, as the result of careful investigation. To this end, our paper reports the findings of a small-scale study carried out at the University of Verona in 2020. A qualitative approach was adopted in the analysis of interview data, conducted with those directly involved in ERT. The objective was to explore the perceptions of both language students and teachers concerning their experiences with learning and teaching technologies. The paper examines which emerging themes may be worth integrating into university language teaching approaches going forward
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