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 |
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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
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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) |
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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. |
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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 |
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[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.
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[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
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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
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Stage 6: Reflections and evaluations |
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[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).
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[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
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Students will take part in focus groups interviews discussing and reflecting on the telecollaborative pro |
Homework |
20 mins
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