Uses of CANVAS & MPL in blended course for learning Portuguese as a foreign language

1. Uses of Canvas and MyPortugueseLab in blended courses for learning Portuguese as a foreign language

2. Uses of CANVAS & MPL in blended course for learning Portuguese as a foreign language Learning strategies are defined as “specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques -- such as seeking out conversation partners, or giving oneself encouragement to tackle a difficult language task -- used by students to enhance their own learning” (p. 63). The Tapestry of Language Learning: The Individual in the Communicative Classroom Robin C. Scarcella and Rebecca L. Oxford (1992)

3. Objectives • Study and research virtual learning environments. • Assess them on the creation and facilitation of PLE courses —for the beginner and the basic levels— taught half online and half in situ, using the format of blended courses. • Contribute to the production of scientific knowledge.

4. Methodology • Research. • Theoretical and practical studies. • Starting with literature review about PLE education. • Online language teaching and learning in virtual learning environments (VLE).

5. Objective 1 • Study and research virtual learning environments. • CANVAS • MPL (my Portuguese lab)

6. Objective 2 Assess them on the creation and facilitation of PLE courses —for the beginner and the basic levels— taught half online and half onsite, using the format of blended courses. • Use of two different learning environments: a virtual environment (CANVAS & MPL) and a personal environment based on learning strategies. • Use of specific applications and networking sites as podcasts, whatsapp, babel, duolingo, and lastly wespeke. • We are dealing with native speakers in technology or what Marc Prensky would call digital natives. (N-gen or D-gen) • We are Digital Immigrants, and we learn to adapt to the environment, we always retain, to some degree, an "accent," that is, our foot in the past (Prensky).

7. Setting up rules (first two weeks) • We were developing new ways of teaching foreign language (L2), and they were going to be part of the experiment. • Use of two different learning environments. • Use of specific applications and networking sites. • Blended course: on-line sessions are important to get feedback from Dr. Zacarias, and face-to-face sessions are important for feedback, learning strategies to master the L2, practicing the L2, and sharing their findings with their classmates.

8. Our syllabus (2014) • Practice—Tests: 0P+01+02+03+04                                            20%     • Oral Presentation on Brazilian Culture                                     10% • Homework from MyPortugueseLab25% • On-line Class Participation                                                          10% • Textbook Activities (F2F classes)  & F2FParticipation 20% • Final Exam*                                                                                    15%                            ________________________________________________________ •                                                                                 100%

9. Student participation On-line Class Participation                 10% (Active On-line Participation is an on-line meeting at least 5 times, and on-line office hours at least 3 times in the semester) Textbook Activities (F2F sessions)10% Face-to-Face (F2F) Participation (every session) 10% (Face-to-face office hours at least 3 times in the semester)   

10. Syllabus Fall 2014

11. Our syllabus (2015) Practice—Tests: 0P+01+02+03+04                                               25%     Oral Presentation on Brazilian Culture                                         10% Homework assignments from MyPortugueseLab 20% On-line Class Participation                                                              15% Face-to-Face Participation (F2F classes and office hours)       15% Final Exam*                                               15% _________________________________________________________ 100%

12. Student participation Homework from MyPortugueseLab20% On-line Class Participation                                           15% (Active On-line Participation: you will have to attend the 15 on-line classes,and at least 3 on-line office hours in the semester) Face-to-Face Participation (F2F) 15% (Active In-class Participation: you will have to attend the 15 F2F classes,and attend at least 3 times the F2F office hours in the semester)

13. Current syllabus

14. Teaching strategies • Start with strategies students already know. • You will find it helpful to use a framework such as the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) to explicitly teach learning strategies (Chamot et al., 1999). • CALLA is a language and content learning approach that specifically incorporates learning strategies instruction, and thus it is appropriate for immersion settings.

15. CALLA • CALLA involves 5 phases of instruction: • Preparation • Presentation • Practice • Self-Evaluation • Expansion

16. 2. Presentation • In the presentation phase of a lesson, you introduce the new concept or language skill. In a lesson that includes specific instruction in learning strategies, you also introduce the new strategy. The most effective learning strategies lessons introduce just one or at most two strategies. • To do this, you will want to: • (a) Name the strategy(b) Explain how to use it (c) Tell when to use it(d) Model it(e) Explain its importance.

17. Learning strategies Learning strategies can be classified into six groups: • Cognitive. • Metacognitive. • Memory-related. • Compensatory. • Affective. • Social.

18. Learningstyles • Sensory preferences. • Personality types. • Desired degree of generality. • Biological differences.

19. Did we reach our goals at the beginning?

20. Beyond the Stylistic Comfort Zone By providing a wide range of classroom activities that cater to different learning styles, teachers can help L2 students develop beyond the comfort zone dictated by their natural style preferences. The key is systematically offering a great variety of activities within a learner-centered, communicative approach.

21. Assessing L2 Learning Style By far the most common type of assessment tool for L2 learning styles is the written survey.

22. Student Self-Assessment

23. Learning strategies What makes a strategy positive and helpful for a given learner? • The strategy relates well to theL2 task at hand. • The strategy fits the particular student’s learning style preferences to one degree or another. • The student employs the strategy effectively and links it with other relevant strategies.

24. How can we as teachers help L2 students in their learning process? By trying out some strategies that are outside of their primary style preferences.

25. Strategy chain Students who frequently employ learning strategies enjoy a high level of self-efficacy, i.e., a perception of being effective as learners (Zimmerman & Pons, 1986).