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Learn about TalkAbroad and its implementation in university courses to maximize language exposure. Discover how students benefit from live video conversations with native speakers.
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Maximizing Target Language Exposure via Live Video Conferencing & Localization for University Students Dr. Aubrey D. Jones Weber State University To University Students Drs. Cynthia and Aubrey D. Jones
What is TALK ABROAD www.talkabroad.com
How it works Step 1: sign-up and create course Step 2: give course code to students Step 3: Students login and pay for conversation credits Step 4: create assignment Step 5: Student chooses conversation partner and sets meeting time. Step 6: Student and conversation partner meet online and have conversation
Step 1: create login for professor account • Create login • Choose timezone • Choose Institution • Create password
Step 2:Course code for students • Students will need to create their own account. • They will then use the instructor course code in order to join the course section on TalkAbroad
Step 3: Purchasing credits Each conversation is normally 30 minutes in length. However there is the option of doing shorter 10 minute conversations for lower level classes. ($7.50 per conversation with a minimum purchase of 4)
Step 6: Student and conversation partner meet online The student is advised to attempt a test call to the TalkAbraod to insure that everything is working correctly. For their meeting, they should show up a few minutes early, in case there are any technological issues
Proposed Courses for Grant Curriculum Development Grant through TalkAbroad • FRCH 3060 French Grammar and Composition • FRCH 3715 Business French II • FRCH 2010 Third Semester French
How we implemented TalkAbroad into our curriculum Where we housed it in our grades/assignments Assignment set up How the assignment looks within dashboard How we assessed it
Create Assignment on Canvas and TalkAbroad Ability to write private instructions for the conversation partner in order to help them guide the student.
FRCH 3715 French Business II Gave students an assignment to talk about their experience at a Business Case competition Briefly informed the conversation partner about the Business competition the students participated in, and what kinds of things they should encourage the students to talk about.
Student feedback Our impressions Research on effectiveness What we could try differently HOW IT WENT
FRCH 2010 comments “It was less intimidating with the same person.” “It was REALLY scary before each conversation, but once I did it, it wasn’t so bad.” “The French speaker was always kind, I just was intimidated because I didn’t feel ready.” “It made it more intimidating since they fully understood the language.”
FRCH 2010 comments “I was so surprised that I could hold a decent conversation!” “My communication skills depended on how well I knew the criteria.” “If I prepared a ton I felt good, otherwise I struggled and 30 minutes felt too long.” “You would remember words on the go that you would forget about normally.”
FRCH 2010 comments “Agree, since some were in France, while others were Canadian, Moroccan, etc.” “Talk abroad people sounded more natural.” :) “Both speakers were Canadian and spoke slightly faster than my professor, but for the most part spoke similarly.”
FRCH 2010 comments “Both of my conversation partners spoke some English as well, so I did use other strategies, but if it got too difficult, I could ask the word in English.” “Strongly agree - I was constantly using these strategies.” “I would forget what I knew when I was trying to talk to a native speaker, which was embarrassing.”
FRCH 2010 comments “Talking with a native speaker is always enlightening.” “Overall I learned a lot even though I wanted to poop my pants.” “It was scary and stressful, but looking back, I’m glad I did it! Talking with a native speaker is the best way to learn.”
FRCH 2010 comments “Strongly agree - this would make it so you wouldn’t miss much French and would have time already put aside in your day.” “I don’t get to speak French during the summer, but I would love to!” “It would be more useful if we used it more often and consistently.”
FRCH 2010 comments “Strongly agree.” “Once, we got to share differences in architecture. It was really cool!” “They do not have oreo ice cream in France!”
What we would do differently… Instructions on Corrective Feedback?
Length of conversation... Adjust the length of time of the conversations according to the proficiency level of the students.
Effectiveness Outcomes….Proficiency? Schenker, 2017: A telecollaborative project study was conducted between 1st year students of German in a US university and native speakers in a high school in Germany, and “The results of the independent-samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference in the speaking scores of the group participating in the voice-chat project (mean = 11.56, sd = 1.34, N = 18) and the group that did not participate in the telecollaboration (mean = 10.8, sd = 1.32, N = 18) project; t (34) = 1.69, p = .099. Even though the difference in means was not statistically significant, there was a medium effect size (d = .56).”
Effectiveness: Other Outcomes? “In communication with native speakers or other learners of the language, students can engage in negotiation of meaning, which according to the interaction hypothesis supports language acquisition (Long, 1996). Likewise, communicating with others online can help students become aware of their own linguistic shortcomings, which may push them to modify their output in an attempt to more successfully convey a message. This, according to the pushed output hypothesis (Swain, 1985) can lead to processes important for second language acquisition. In collaborative dialogue with others, students have to learn how to make themselves understood by adjusting their output and trying out new structures (Swain & Lapkin, 1998).” (Schenker, 2017).
Effectiveness: Other Outcomes? “Connecting non-native speakers (NNS) with native speakers (NS) of the target language is especially advantageous; it can enhance learning by giving students access to authentic communication contexts (O'Dowd, 2006; Thorne, 2006) which can lead to increased student motivation (Gläsman, 2004; Jauregi et al., 2011) and higher levels of participation and interaction (O'Dowd, 2007). Communicating online with native speakers has been shown to support students' development of intercultural competence (Belz, 2007; Van der Kroon, Jauregi & Jan, 2015) as well as their skill development in several language areas such as, for example, vocabulary knowledge (Dodd, 2001), reading comprehension (Taki & Ramazani, 2011), pragmatic competence (Rafieyan et al., 2014; Vyatkina, 2012), writing skills (Liaw, 1998; Ritchie & Black, 2012), oral proficiency (Satar & Özdener, 2008) and listening comprehension (Yanguas, 2012), to name a few.” (Schenker, 2017)
Other applications... Online/hybrid courses “Cultural events” Optional assignments for highly motivated students
Other possibilities for Talk Abroad in the L2 classroom • Provide an opportunity for the students to compare and contrast accents from different francophone regions • Currently using Talk Abroad in French Phonetics and Phonology course to introduce to students to some aspects of dialectologie
Other tactics for live video-conferencing in the L2 classroom • For lower levels, do first conversation as a class --reducing the pressure for one single student to perform • Have students work in small groups of 2-3 with conversation partners • Do multiple 10 minute conversations instead of 30 minutes
