Development of Pre-Service English Teachers’ Language Skills and Learner Autonomy via Blended Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/126Keywords:
Learner autonomy, language skills, pre-service English teachers, blended learning, Moodle courseAbstract
The use of information and communication technology greatly improved foreign languages teaching and learning. Learning management systems, such as Moodle, used to create and deliver courses, facilitate e-learning in different types of educational institutions. Blended learning as a combination of face-to face and e-learning is conducive to deep learning. We designed a new course “Teaching English as a foreign language to learners with special educational needs” to provide students enrolled in a master’s programme – preservice English teachers, with an opportunity to enhance their language and professional skills as well as to develop their learner autonomy through meaningful learning experiences blending learning can supplement. We considered micro, meso and macro levels of the course implementation and functioning. In this paper we describe the context in which the course is introduced by providing information about the setting, the curriculum, the need for including this course in the master’s programme at the faculty of foreign languages. We also outline the way the course is designed, including its structure, particular tasks and assessment procedures and present students’ feedback about the impact of the course on their foreign language skills and learner autonomy. The results indicate that blended learning is an effective tool for development of pre-service teachers’ English language skills and learner autonomy. The findings of the study can be applied by faculty and administrators involved in the design of courses at tertiary level.References
Amaral, K. E., & Shank, J. D. (2010). Enhancing student learning and retention with blended learning class guides. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2010/12/enhancing-student-learningand-retention-with-blended-learning-class-guides
Allford, D., & Pachler, N. (2007). Language, Autonomy and the New Learning Environments. Peter Lang Publishers.
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Language Learning. London: Longman Pearson.
Benson, P., & Huang, J. (2008). Autonomy in the transition from foreign language learning to foreign language teaching. DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada, 24(spe), 421-439. doi:10.1590/S0102- 44502008000300003
Coates, H & James, R & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of learning management systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and Management, 11 (1). 19-36. doi:10.1080/13583883.2005.9967137.
Cotterall, S. (2000). Promoting learner autonomy through the curriculum: principles for designing language courses. ELT Journal, 54(2). doi:10.1093/elt/54.2.109
Dorn, L. J., & Soffos, C. (2001). Shaping literate minds: Developing self-regulated learners. Portland, MI: Stenhouse Publishers.
Dudeney, G., & Hockly, N. (2016). Blended learning in a mobile context: new tools, new learning experiences? In M. McCarthy (Ed.) The Cambridge guide to blended learning for language teaching. (pp. 219 - 233). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gardner, B., & Korth, S. (1997). Classroom strategies that facilitate transfer of learning to the workplace. Innovative Higher Education, 22(1), 45-60. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6fe4/01a592027504fd938ef784fb747fdd 6df30e.pdf
Garrison, D. R., & Kanuka, H. (2004). Blended learning: uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. Internet and Higher Education, 7(2), 95 - 105.
Gruba, P. & Hinkelman, D., (2012). Blending Technologies in second language classrooms. Palgrave Macmillan. Ellis, R. (2009). A field guide to learning management systems. ASTD learning circuits. Retrieved from http://web.csulb.edu/~arezaei/ETEC551/web/LMS_fieldguide_20091.pdf
Ergul Sonmez, E., & Koc, M. (2018) Pre-Service Teachers' Lived Experiences with Taking Courses through Learning Management Systems: A Qualitative Study Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), 101-116.
Horváthová, B. (2016). Development of learner autonomy. In Z. Straková (Ed.). How to teach in higher education. (pp. 120-134) Retrieved from https://www.pulib.sk/web/kniznica/elpub/dokument/Strakova2
Huang, J. (2006). Fostering learner autonomy within constraints: Negotiation and mediation in an atmosphere of collegiality. 38 Prospect, 21(3), 38-57. Retrieved from http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/docs/prospect_journal/volume_21_no_3 /21_3_3_Jing.pdf
Hughes, G. (2007). Using blended learning to increase learner support and improve retention. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(3), 349-363. doi:10.1080/13562510701278690
King, A. (2016). Blended language learning: Part of the Cambridge Papers in ELT series. UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://languageresearch.cambridge.org/images/Language_Research/CambridgePapers/CambridgePapersinELT_BlendedLearning_2016_ONLINE. pdf
Kish, M. (2015). Empowering students and teachers with blended learning. P2 Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2(9). Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1723-empowering-studentsand-teachers-with-blended-learning
Kyeong-Ouk, J. (2017). Preparing EFL student teachers with new technologies in the Korean context. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 30(6), 488-509. doi:10.1080/09588221.2017.1321554
Makaskill, A., & Taylor, E. (2010). The development of a brief measure of learner autonomy in university students. Studies in Higher Education, 35(3), 351- 359. doi:10.1080/03075070903502703
Neumeier, P. (2005). A closer look at blended learning – parameters for designing a blended learning environment for language teaching and learning. ReCALL, 14(1), 167-181.
Nikolaeva, S. (2015). The Bologna process in Ukraine: the decade anniversary. General and professional education, 4, 66 - 74.
Nikolaeva, S. (2013) The technology of portfolio in higher professional education, Inozemni movy, 2, 47-54.
Open and Distance Learning – Key Terms & Definitions (2015). Commonwealth of learning CC BY SA Retrieved from http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/829/Definitions_ODL%20 key%20terms_20150522.pdf?sequence=4
Paragina, F., Paragina, S., Jipa, A., Savu, T., Dumitrescu, A. (2011). The benefits of using MOODLE in teacher training in Romania. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1135-1139. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.03.252.
Sharma, P., & Barrett, B. (2007). Blended Learning: Using technology in and beyond the language classroom. UK: Macmillan Penguin.
Zadorozhna, I. P. (2015). Developing autonomy of students specialising in linguistics in the process of studying required courses. Visnyk Chernihivskoho natsionalnoho pedahohichnoho universytetu, 131, 60-64. Retrieved from http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/VchdpuP_2015_131_16
Zadorozhna, I. (2016) Developing self-evaluation skills as key factors in promoting prospective FL teacher’s autonomy. Pedahohichnyi almanakh, 29, 69-75. Retrieved from http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/pedalm_2016_29_13.
Zadorozhna, I. (2014). Using the US experience of online and hybrid education in Ukrainian universities. Scientific Issues of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, 3, 139-143.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journalright of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND