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Successful teaching and learning with LEI. Dr. Michael Rost. Presentation Outline. Background: Design Features Learning Principles Keys to Success with LEI “Best in Show” Supplements Research Methods Q-A. LEI learning features:.
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Successful teaching and learningwith LEI Dr. Michael Rost
Presentation Outline • Background: Design Features • Learning Principles • Keys to Success with LEI • “Best in Show” Supplements • Research Methods • Q-A
LEI learning features: • Access anywhere, anytime – Your students log on from any computer anytime, offering flexibility and convenience. • Easy to use – The navigation is simple and intuitive. • Contemporary video with engaging characters presents real language in context. • Ongoing student assessment allows teachers and students to monitor student progress. • Full-time conversation partner provides unlimited controlled conversation practice • Automated feedback guides students’ skill development. • Living Grammar dynamically illustrates how grammar works. • Culture Notes help learners understand cultural differences and learn a new language within a broader social context. • Native language support is offered through translation into Ss’ L1. • Study plans:Customize the course syllabus to meet your curriculum pace and needs. • Progress reports: View detailed reports displaying “time on task” as well as practice, quiz, and test scores. • E-portfolios: Monitor and assess students’ progress on written assignments electronically.
Student Survey Feedback In a recent survey of 500 LEI students : • 93% found the platform easy to use • 95% found their study plans useful • 91% found online writing with teacher feedback and grading helpful • 85% believed they improved their grade • 98% felt they benefited from using the online course
Learning Principle 1: Input Theory short episodes, story-based, comprehensible, multimedia, reviewable
Learning Principle 2: Sociocultural TheoryNatural settings; wide coverage of social functions; culture notes; learning strategy instruction
Learning Principle 3: Depth of Processing Theory Anchored syllabus; re-wiring language points; thorough feedback and revision; expansion
What does the research of online learning suggest? • Classroom only > Distance (TD) only • Hybrid-1 (Classroom + TD) > Classroom only • Hybrid-2 (Classroom+ Textbook+ TD) is better. • Hybrid-3 (TD+CR+TB+OLSup) is best.
Most Successful Cases of Using LEI + Classroom Communication Tasks + Teacher Coaching + Direct teaching of learning strategies (see list) + Additional Individual Speaking Practice (see list) + Group Collaboration Projects (see list) + Ongoing Fluency Writing Program (see list) + Supplementary Reading and Listening (see list)
Best in Class: Learning Strategies • Motivation Strategies (Try learning interactively, List your goals, Form your own English group, Learn to take risks, Stay in the game) • Self-Management Strategies (Take time to plan; Rehearse by yourself, Learn from your mistakes, Consider your learning style, Understand the learning process, Set up your own learning routines; Practice self-discipline) • Memory Strategies (Use charts to organize your thoughts, make vocabulary cards, Think in English, Practice sounds with tongue twisters, Share the news in your own words, Focus on details) • Input Strategies (Listen with a purpose, Read about current events in English, Understand more by making predictions, Read famous stories aloud, Focus on stressed words • Communication Strategies (Increase your participation in group work, Interact with your classmates, Get ready to discuss ideas, Compare polite forms, Ask questions in real time)
Best in Class: Extra Listening • Broadcasts from the BBC A range of audio and video broadcasts available for online streaming. www.bbc.co/uk/worldservice/BBC_English/progs.htm • YouTube Selection Selected YouTube videos, subtitled by members http://yappr.com • Free TV Watch your favorite TV shows. Anytime. For free. http://www.hulu.com/ • English Language Listening Lounge Massive number of interesting interviews, tasks, vocabulary and cultural notes www.elllo.org • Awesome Stories “The story place of the web” Tell yours, listen to others’. www.awesomestories.com
Best in Class: Extra Speaking • ESL Gold includes situations, conversation topics, speaking tasks www.eslgold.com/speaking.html • Chatterbox Challenge – variety of controlled conversations with chatterbots www.chatterboxchallenge.com • English Baby – Forums and chat rooms for conversation www.englishbaby.com • Voice Thread – Group conversations (asynchronous) around images, documents and video clips www.voicethread.com • Google Voice Free phone voice messages, transcribed automatically (80%), feedback mechanism https://www.google.com/voice/
Best in Class: ExtraReading and Listening • Khan Academy Learn almost anything (mostly about science) http://www.khanacademy.org/ • Academic Earth Online courses from the world's top scholars. www.academicearth.org • Brain Pop animated, curriculum-based content that engages students http://www.brainpop.co.uk/ • Wikiversity – Audio and Text-based courses, “set learning free” http://wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity • Literacy Net Graded and supported readings on a range of topics, with skill building exercises http://www.literacynet.org
Best in Class: Group Communication • Write and record your own story www.storycorps.org • Direct and post your own videos www.vimeo.com • Assemble and narrate multimedia shows slideshows www.smilebox.comwww.animoto.com • Share your own presentations www.slideshare.com • Design original multimedia presentations http://prezi.com
Best in Class: Extra Fluency Writing • The Common Language Project Inform each other on “crucial human issues of our time.” http://clpmag.org/about.php • Language Exchange Meet other international students and communicate via Skype http://www.language-exchanges.org • Qualia Soup A YouTube channel discussing controversial topics and arguments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h9XntsSEro&feature=relmfu • Journal Writing Prompts 300 prompts for reflective journal writing http://creativewritingprompts.com • Social Networks Connect with others, locally and internationally, promote yourself and your interests; pre-fab communities www.facebook.com, www.orkut.com
Research Paradigms • Input-Interaction Theory: Is amount and type of input & interaction enhanced with the new technology? • Socio-cultural Theory: How does the new technology increase motivation? Increase/ ‘connectedness’ to the TL culture? • Processing Theory: How does the new technology promote progressively deeper levels of processing? Michael Rost 2011
3 Types of Research Questions Type 1: Descriptive Purpose: identify and describe some phenomenon (without immediate attempt to intervene in outcome) Examples: • What are the characteristics of students who are most successful with LEI? • What activities are most often used by students during self-access?
3 Types of Research Question Type 2: Differences Purpose: Identify differences between groups in relation to some phenomenon (with assumption of zero difference) Examples: • Do Students who use the Pronunciation section for 2 hours a week develop better pronunciation skills than Students who use it for 1 hour a week? • Do Students who use LEI + Classroom Activities develop better communication skills than Students who use LEI without Classroom Activities?
3 Types of Research Question Type 3: Relationships Purpose: Find out if two or more phenomena are related in some systematic manner (with assumption of zero relationship). Examples: • If a Student’s Vocabulary ability (score) increases does the Student’s Reading ability (score) also increase? • If a Student spends more time on LEI, does the Student’s proficiency level increase accordingly?
Research Method 1 (Descriptive) • Learner perception studies ask learners about their experiences of various forms of (hybrid) learning (e.g. Pasfield, 2011; Lee, 2004).
Research Method 2 (Descriptive) • “Snapshot” studies provide data sets that show how learner activity is apportioned to various aspects of SLA (e.g.Dooly, 2011; Wagner, 2009; Sing and Khine, 2006 ) .
Research Method 3 (Differences) Cross-mode (live-online) task studies compare learning outcomes of classroom vs. distance learning vs. hybrid settings(e.g.Bloch, 2008, Armstrong et al, 2005).
Research Method 4 (Relationships) • Differential impact explore effects on online coursework on accuracy and proficiency gains studies (e.g. Vinagre and Munoz, 2011).
Research Method 5 (Relationships) • Detailed course reports by teachers of online courses track student progress and effects of topic and task types (Baralt et al, 2011; Healy et al, 2011).
Questions? • Classroom management? • Adding speaking? • Best balance of activities? • Teacher’s role? • Conducting classroom research?
Thank you for your participation… Michael Rost michael.rost@latcomm.com latcomm.com/blog Please contact me with your research designs …and with your experiences teaching with LEI
Best in Class: Teacher Blogs • English with Jennifer http://englishwithjennifer.wordpress.com/ • English Raven http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/ • ELT from A to Z http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/ • That’s Life http://slife.dudeney.com • TEFL Matters http://www.facebook.com/Marisa.Constantinides • Critical mass elt http://sjhannam.edublogs.org
Some References • Healy, D. et al. (2011) TESOL Technology Standards. TESOL. • Horizon Project http://horizon.wiki.nmc.org/About+The+Horizon+Project • MSU Michigan State's Confucius Institute and MMOG for Chinese: http://b2e.nitle.org/index.php/2007/01/26/massively_multiplayer_online_learning • Thorne, S. L. (2009). 'Community', Semiotic Flows, and Mediated Contribution to Activity. Language Teaching, 42(1): 81-94. • Thorne, S. L. & Reinhardt, J. (2008). “Bridging Activities,” New Media Literacies and Advanced Foreign Language Proficiency. CALICO Journal, 25(3): 558-572. • Wesch, Michael (2011) The Machine is Us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE&eurl=
Best in class: Vocabulary • Vocabahead – short videos to illustrate vocab for standardized tests http://www.vocabahead.com • Word a Day – receive a new word each day http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/list/ • Visual Thesaurus – Visualize word webs http://www.visualthesaurus.com • Corpus Based Learning – Use large database of spoken English to learn collocations and contexts http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/ • Listen to English Focuses on short pedagogic podcasts and vocabulary building www.listen-to-english.com
Best in Class: Learning Games • The Experiential Learning Group Offers listening games oriented for adults. www.experiential-learning-games.com/listeninggames.html • ESL Games World Flash-based games for lower levels http://www.eslgamesworld.com/http://topwordgames.com/ • Multiplayer Games (MMOG) Interact with other players around the world http://www.novelgames.com/multiplayerflashgames/ • English Wizz A Jeopardy style board game on over 300 world topics www.englishwizz.com • Free Thinking Games A variety of critical thinking games www.freethinkinggames.com