The Epistemology of Skill and Knowledge Development to Teach Portuguese in a Virtual Learning Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-29
Author(s):  
Stella Kyprou Hadjistassou
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
European Community ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
3D Environment ◽  
Foreign Language Instructors ◽  
Collaborative Activities ◽  
Underlying Processes ◽  
Contingent Support

This article explores the underlying processes involved as two experienced Portuguese as a foreign language instructors, who are novices to 3D technologies, became immersed in the epistemology of teaching in a 3D context. The two instructors undertook a challenging initiative to develop and deliver two sections of oral Portuguese in a 3D environment. Through the contingent support of a European community of practitioners, the two instructors explored how the game-based elements and other semiotic resources of SL could be used to enact affordances for the development of goal-oriented tasks, collaborative activities, and interactions in order to guide students in building their oral proficiency in Portuguese. The skill and knowledge development were examined with the trajectories of Compton's framework and epistemological theory where teaching in virtual contexts is contingent upon the construction of technological, pedagogical, and evaluation skills.

The Epistemology of Skill and Knowledge Development to Teach Portuguese in a Virtual Learning Environment

2019 ◽  
pp. 714-733
Author(s):  
Stella Kyprou Hadjistassou
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
European Community ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
3D Environment ◽  
Foreign Language Instructors ◽  
Collaborative Activities ◽  
Underlying Processes ◽  
Contingent Support

This article explores the underlying processes involved as two experienced Portuguese as a foreign language instructors, who are novices to 3D technologies, became immersed in the epistemology of teaching in a 3D context. The two instructors undertook a challenging initiative to develop and deliver two sections of oral Portuguese in a 3D environment. Through the contingent support of a European community of practitioners, the two instructors explored how the game-based elements and other semiotic resources of SL could be used to enact affordances for the development of goal-oriented tasks, collaborative activities, and interactions in order to guide students in building their oral proficiency in Portuguese. The skill and knowledge development were examined with the trajectories of Compton's framework and epistemological theory where teaching in virtual contexts is contingent upon the construction of technological, pedagogical, and evaluation skills.

scholarly journals The Development of the Linguistic Persona in the Context of Professionally Oriented University-Level Foreign Language Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 123-136
Author(s):  
Liudmila Konyakhina ◽  
◽  
Lora Yakovleva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
University Level ◽  
Foreign Language Programs ◽  
Foreign Language Instructors

The article discusses a number of issues related to developing the linguistic persona and intercultural competency and focuses on educational ideas, strategies, technologies, and practices that embody intercultural approaches to foreign language education. To ensure the high quality of foreign language education, our priorities must include the development of competences in the area of professional communication in foreign languages. In that regard, the article identifies pedagogical conditions conducive to fostering the socio-cultural competence and the successful development of the learner’s linguistic persona. The authors present mechanisms of implementing the said pedagogical conditions in the following areas: a) developing communication skills and competencies of foreign language instructors; b) modeling situations with communication barriers in diverse ethnocultural environments; c) acquiring and selecting ethnocultural information; d) integrating in-class and out-of-class activities in a foreign language; and e) establishing a good rapport between an instructor and her students. The authors go on to describe the methodological basis for designing the content of foreign language programs, identify optimal approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, and reflect on the context of the intercultural paradigm in university-level foreign language education.

scholarly journals Effects of Bilingualism on Reading Fluency: An Analysis of Pausing Patterns of Iranian Learners of English as a Third Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Zahra Banitalebi ◽  
Ali Akbar Jabbari ◽  
Shouket Ahmad Tilwani ◽  
Mohammad Hasan Razmi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Bilingual Learners ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Third Language ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Significant Difference

Fluency is one of the most important components of oral proficiency, which can be affected by a number of variables including frequency, duration, and place of pause phenomena. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of bilingualism on learning a foreign language from the angle of fluency and pausing patterns by comparing the pausing patterns of monolingual (Persian speakers) and bilingual (Iranian Turkish speakers; L1: Turkish and L2: Persian) EFL learners. To this end, a sample of 40 male and female advanced EFL learners were selected from Yazd University and several English-language institutes. An English reading passage test was used to measure students’ fluency in terms of their pausing patterns in prepared mode of speech. As learners started to read the passage, their speeches were recorded. The collected data were analyzed by Praat software. The statistical analyses revealed a significant difference between monolingual and bilingual learners in the frequency, duration, and placement of the pauses they had produced while they were reading the English passage. The results showed that bilingual learners outperformed monolingual participants, suggesting the superiority of bilinguals in their pausing patterns. The implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Empowering Pre-Service Teachers to Produce Ubiquitous Flipped Classes

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soraya García-Sánchez ◽  
Jose Miguel Santos-Espino
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Ubiquitous Learning ◽  
Educational Videos ◽  
Collaborative Activities ◽  
Ubiquitous Learning Environment

This work focuses on technological and educational outcomes that resulted from the production of foreign language educational videos by 90 pre-service instructors enrolled in an official Master’s Degree in Secondary Education programme. This teaching practice, conducted during two consecutive years, was set in a ubiquitous learning environment with the intention of effectively linking digital technology with pedagogy by means of producing flipped classroom units. The findings reveal that these pre-service teachers successfully combined instructional dynamics with digital skills to produce flipped classes adapted to the young generation’s needs. The classroom becomes, therefore, a more participatory learner-centred scenario with a variety of interactive and collaborative activities performed by foreign language students.

scholarly journals Speaking Anxiety of Students Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language: Instructors’ Experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-352
Author(s):  
İzzet Şeref ◽  
Enes Çinpolat
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Foreign Language Instructors

The purpose of present research is to examine the speaking anxiety observed by the instructors in their students in teaching Turkish as a foreign language settings. For this aim, phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The participants of the research are the instructors working in the Turkish teaching centers of various state universities who were reached through the snowball sampling technique. A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data from these tutorials. To analyze the data a content analysis technique with MAXQDA 2020 program was utilized. Instructors of Turkish as a foreign language stated that material and instructor proficiency are the most common factors in foreign language teaching, while motivation, attitude and anxiety are the most common internal factors. According to the results of the study, speaking is the language skill most affected by anxiety. It was concluded that the most common causes of speaking anxiety experienced by the students were the fear of being ridiculed, the thought of failure, and the lack of personal development. Instructors think that speaking anxiety occurs mostly with a shy attitude while speaking. In addition, the instructors stated that they took various measures to solve this situation in their students who they thought had speaking anxiety. These are mostly creating a flexible and relaxing learning environment, applying interesting activities, and allocating special time for the student.

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