English Studies Intercultural Telecollaboration

Project (ESITP)

 

 

The project at glance:

 

     
Project’s

ESITP

Project’s name

English Studies Intercultural Telecollaboration Project

Duration

6 weeks, 1 weekly session

Objectives & Target competences Encouraging students’ socio-cultural competence in the target language (English) and their native language (Spanish) by using telecollaborative activities at higher education level
Language configuration Monolingual – one language will be used: English as a Lingua Franca
Target group Third-year students at UV Spain

Subject: English Language 6

Sample size: Approximately 50 students

Degree: English Studies Degree

Linguistic level C1 of the CEFR
Duration 6 weeks, 1 weekly session
Communication mode The communication mode will be both synchronous and asynchronous in a blended learning environment. There will be online and offline work, in-class, out-of-class, and between classes work
Main communication and task completion tools Software (Prezi, PPT), Google+Communities, Google+hangouts, video-editing software (movie maker), Google Drive (docs, slides)
Pedagogical implications

 

The pedagogical implications are mainly based on fostering motivation, developing online navigation skills as well as students’ awareness of the important role played by the socio-cultural competence in the learning of a second language (English). We will particularly address the use of interactive and interactional metadiscourse strategies (Hyland and Tse, 2004) used in English and its comparison to Spanish in different professional/academic written and oral genres (opinion essays, movie reviews, business websites, reports, TV ads, etc.). Aside from that, we will focus on examining the different cultural values held by Spaniards and Britons by drawing on disciplines like social anthropology (Hall, 1976; Hofstede, 1991; Lewis, 1996, etc.). The main goal is to make students reflect on the impact of cultural values on language and avoid literal translations from the mother tongue to the target language when it comes to write or speak a particular professional or academic genre in English.  
Study type goals Design-based research with experimental design (pre- and post-intervention) aimed at exploring the unique affordances of technologies in the framework of telecollaborative English language learning to support the development of university students’ socio-cultural competence in English as well as 21st century skills with a focus on global awareness.
Dominant language production Productive skills: speaking & writing

Receptive skills: listening & reading

Interactive metadiscourse strategies (used to organize and structure the written/oral discourse and guide the listener/reader through them)

Interactional metadiscourse strategies (used to provide the writer’s/speaker’s stance towards the proposition conveyed and the relationship established with listeners/readers)

Target competences Socio-cultural and intercultural communicative competence, 21st century skills.
Task Types Sequence of pedagogic tasks, conversational topics, Project-based learning (PBL), problem-solving, collaborative tasks (construction), reflection. 
Stages of Telecollaborative Project Stage 1: Getting started: To familiarize students with the telecollaboration project and with the different technologies to be used in class and at home:

1.1.      Pre-intervention questionnaire

1.2.      Diagnostic test

1.3.      Digital profile on Google + Community

1.4.      Ice-breaking questions

 

Stage 2: Online Socialisation: Building the Online Community:

2.1. Group formation

2.2. Responses to ice-breaking

2.3. Introductory videos on Google+

2.4. First synchronous exchange

2.5. Written reflection about first synchronous exchange.

 

Stage 3: Information Exchange: Exploring and sharing cultural and linguistic knowledge on the use on interactive and interactional metadiscourse strategies:

3.1. Language memory

3.2. DNA video questions and answers

3.3. DNA video feedback exchange

 

Stage 4: Knowledge construction: Cross-cultural problem-solving on the use of metadiscourse strategies:

4.1. Reading/Listening an academic and a professional written/spoken genre in which metadiscourse strategies in English and Spanish are used.

4.2. Cross-cultural scenarios, proble-solving.

4.3. “Issues about telecollaboration” reflection forms completion.

 

Stage 5: Main task 1: Writing and Speaking of a written and an oral genre (either academic or professional) in the second language (English) as well as in the native language (Spanish)

 

5.1. Carry out the activity

5.2. Upload the activity on Google+Community

5.3. Assess the written and oral task

 

Stage 6: To reflect on the impact of cultural values (Hall, 1976; Hofstede, 1991) on the use of metadiscourse strategies in English and Spanish.

6.1. Questionnaire to reflect on how the different or similar interactive and interactional metadiscourse strategies used in the foreign (English) and in the native language (Spanish) are due to an influence of either cultural values or the constraints imposed by the genre.

6.2. Uploading the answers from the questionnaire on Google+Community.

 

Stage 7: Development: Reflections and evaluation:

 

7.1. Feedback exchange on the previous uploaded activities

7.2. Peer assessment sheets

7.3. Voting poll

7.4. Post-intervention questionnaire

7.5. Awards

7.6. Focus-group interviews

 

Stage 8: Wrapping-up: Making and exchanging farewell videos:

 

8.1. Farewell video exchange.

8.2. Farewell video session.

Suggestions for assessment Assessment of individual outputs:

 

The following outputs can be assessed

individually:

–      Digital profile (output of Stage 2: Getting started)

–      Introductory videos (output of Stage 2: Building up the Community)

–      Individual follow-up written reflections (output of the synchronous oral exchanges from Stage 2, Stage 4 and Stage 5)

–      Individual contributions in the forum discussions

Assessment of telecollaborative artefacts:

 

These artefacts might be assessed as a group:

 

 

Assessment of work processes, team work and participation:

 

 

Students’ working hours
Stage 1: Getting started
[Name of activity]

Information leaflet and consent form

[In class/Homework]

Class

[Working hours]

2 h.

20 mins

Pre-intervention questionnaire Class 20 mins
Diagnostic Test Class 20 mins
Creating a gmail account, digital profile, join the Google+Community, Ice-breaking questions  

Homework

 

 

1 h

Stage 2: Building the Online Community
[Name of activity]

 

Forming Telecollaboration groupings: Students will get grouped together based on their common interests or placement test results.

[In class/Homework]

 

 

Class

 

 

[Working hours]

2 h.

 

10 mins

 

 

Reading digital profiles: Students will read each other’s digital profiles on the Google+Community.

 

 

Homework

 

 

10 mins

Play an interactive game so that students can learn some interesting facts about their foreign partners’ country and institution  

Homework

 

20 mins

Introductions and ice-breaking questions: Post and respond to ice-breaking questions on the Google-Community.

 

 

 

Homework

 

 

20 mins

Personal introductory videos: Students will have to create and upload their personal introductory video on the Google+community and comment on the videos posted by their partners  

 

Homework

 

 

20 mins

First synchronous oral exchange: Students will meet with their telecollaborative partners for approximately 20 minutes at Google+Hangouts (home activity). During this conversation, students will discuss the ice-breaking questions and personal introductory videos (the interactive game)  

 

 

 

Homework

 

 

 

 

20 mins

Reflections about their first synchronous oral exchange: Students will have to write a personal reflection about their first personal synchronous oral exchange (400-500 words approx.)

 

 

 

Homework

 

 

20 mins

Stage 3: Information Exchange
[Name of activity]

Students can choose between writing a promotional leaflet and a movie review in their native (Spanish) and target language (English), upload and share the task on the Google-Community.

[In class/Homework]

 

 

Homework

[Working hours]

2 h.

 

20 mins

Students will read a promotional leaflet and a movie review in both languages where the use of interactive and interactional metadiscourse strategies is employed.  

 

Homework

 

 

20 mins

Students will watch both a video based on a TV ad in which a journey to a particular place for holidays is advertised as well as a video in which reviewers comment on a particular film they have watched recently and make recommendations for potential viewers (The videos will be watched both in English and Spanish, and will include the use of metadiscourse strategies). After that, students will have to answer some questions in relation to the content of those videos.

 

 

 

 

Class

 

 

 

50 mins

Students will share their responses to the questions about the videos first in pairs and then in small groups or with the rest of the class. Then, feedback will be provided.  

 

         Class

 

 

30 mins

Stage 4: Knowledge Construction: Cross-cultural problem-solving
[Name of activity]

Students will have to read their previous writings (English and Spanish) posted on the virtual platform and comment on the differences and similitudes they spot as regards metadiscourse strategies in both languages. 

[In class/Homework]

 

 

Class

[Working hours]

 

2 h.

 

 

1 h

Second synchronous meeting: Meet with their telecollaboration partners at Google + Hangouts in order to complete the problems found in their writings regarding the use of metadiscourse strategies and provide different perspectives and solutions to sort those problems out.

 

 

 

Homework

 

 

30 mins

Reflections about the 2nd synchronous meeting: Students will have to write their reflections about the 2nd synchronous meeting. They will particularly draw their attention to analyse and reflect whether the different or similar metadiscourse strategies spotted in their writings may be due to either an influence of cultural values or the constraints imposed by the genre.  

 

 

Homework

 

 

 

30 mins

     

Stage 5: Creating a new writing and perform a new oral presentation

[Name of activity]

 

In groups, students will have to read their first previous writings and improve them by means of examining the appropriate metadiscourse strategies commonly used in English and how these may be influenced by the cultural values of the target language. They will also have to reflect on whether the metadiscourse strategies used in these type of genres can also be due to genre constraints rather than the written culture. Students will have to create a New Google doc on their group’s shared folder and note down their ideas.

 

[In class/homework]

 

 

Homework

[Working hours]

2h, 40 mins

 

 

      1 h

 

 

 

In groups, students must think about the writing genre they would like to do (promotional leaflet/movie review) as well as the kind of oral presentation they would like to carry out. These activities will be added to the students’ groups’ GoogleDoc shared document. Students will watch the examples.  

 

 

Homework

 

 

 

     20 mins

 

Thinking about the topic, structure, software, and resources for your writing/oral presentation: a) topic (Original and appealing); b) the overall structure with the main communicative moves; c) the software students will use to do their writings or oral presentations; d) the kind of resources they will need. These ideas must be written by students in their shared Googledoc.

 

 

 

Homework

 

 

    20 mins

Creating the writing/perform the oral activity: In groups, students will have to create their own writings or perform the oral presentations. These tasks will be added to their shared GoogleDoc.

 

 

 

 

Homework

 

 

 

1 h

 

 

Stage 6: Reflections and evaluations

[Name of activity]

Assessment of writings and oral presentations: Students will attend all local groups’ oral presentations based on a TV ad and movie review and read the writings. They will individually assess them using the self-assessment and peer-assessment score sheets provided by their teacher. By using the online poll, students will have to vote for the 3 best oral presentations and writings (local).

 

[In class/homework]

 

Class

[Working hours]

        2 h.

 

 

     

 

       1 h

 

 

 

Evaluation of telecollaboration project: Students complete the Post-intervention questionnaire.

 

Homework

 

 

 

10 mins

 

  

Students will receive awards for their best oral presentation and/or writing.  

Class

 

    10 mins

Reflections on and evaluation of the main telecollaboration project: Students will have to fill in the post-questionnaire on telecollaboration  

Homework

 

 

     20 mins

 

Students will take part in focus groups interviews discussing and reflecting on the telecollaborative pro  

Homework

 

      20 mins