ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
A Blended Learning Model Supported by MOOC/SPOC, Zoom, and Canvas in a Project-Based Academic Writing Course
Author: Zhang, Li
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Blended Learning,Large Group Instruction,Online Courses,Educational Technology,Videoconferencing,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,COVID-19,Pandemics,Integrated Learning Systems,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Academic Language,Writing Instruction,Undergraduate Students

Blended learning has played an important role in teaching English as a second or foreign language around the world. However, little research has been conducted on blended learning that is entirely online owing to the coronavirus pandemic. We aim at exploring the model of blending Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and Small Private Online Courses (SPOC), Zoom conferencing, and the Canvas course management platform. The new approach of blended online learning incorporates the pre-class autonomous learning of knowledge in MOOC/SPOC, in-class internalization of knowledge through case studies and discussions on Zoom, and after-class application of knowledge to the completion of a research project. A questionnaire and interviews were conducted to explore learners' perceptions of the effectiveness of the model. Learners have a positive attitude about the new approach of blended online learning, but still hope that the inclass activities can be implemented face-to-face offline. The model will contribute to teaching and learning with the blended approach against the current coronavirus pandemic. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
The Potential of the CEFR for Languages Descriptors for Mediation in an ESP CALL-Based Context
Author: Korai, Maria
Date: 2021-05-03
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Rating Scales,Guidelines,English for Special Purposes,Computer Assisted Instruction,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Case Studies,Teaching Methods,Learning Processes,Definitions,Student Attitudes,Allied Health Occupations Education,Speech Therapy,Communication Skills,Older Adults,Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Language Proficiency,Self Evaluation (Individuals)

The present case study investigated the potential of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages: learning, teaching, assessment can-do descriptors for mediation in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)-based context. Fabricating descriptors for mediation was cardinal for the Council of Europe's (2018) endeavour in updating the CEFR Companion. Despite surfacing just as a language skill in the 2001 CEFR Companion, mediation is now viewed as a central mode of communication in the New CEFR Companion, both in the receptive and productive modes. As they were just introduced in 2018, the CEFR mediation descriptor scales have not yet been sufficiently explored. The main goal of the present research was to fill some of this gap in the literature by investigating the potential of the CEFR for languages descriptors for mediation in an ESP CALL-based CEFR B2 tertiary level context (a 13 week ESP course specifically designed to meet the needs of university Rehabilitation Sciences students.) Data collection tools included students' self-assessment against can-do descriptors for mediation, observation, student reflections, and focus group interviews. The findings suggest that the implementation of the existing course activities had the potential to promote mediation processes. The significant role of mediation in carrying out the course activities in addition to the CALL component of the ESP course activities highlighted the potential of CALL technologies to trigger, support, and promote mediation processes; this finding stressed the underlying role of the nature and the structure of the ESP course's CALL-Based activities in supporting mediation processes. [For the complete volume, &quot;Tertiary Education Language Learning: A Collection of Research,&quot; see ED614100.]
Multimodal Texts in Support of Linguistic and Critical Thinking Development in English for Specific Purposes
Author: Hadjiconstantinou, Stavroulla
Date: 2021-05-03
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Critical Thinking,English for Special Purposes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Semiotics,Critical Literacy,Critical Theory,Teaching Methods,Consciousness Raising,Multiple Literacies,Intervention,Instructional Design,Needs Assessment,Information Technology,Cooperative Learning,Undergraduate Students,Communications,College Faculty,Teacher Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Social Distance,Dialogs (Language)

In light of widespread recognition of the need to explore new forms of literacy brought by the contemporary semiotic world, this study explores the potential Critical Thinking (CT) may offer in developing learners' critical literacy in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context enhanced with the use of technology. Drawing on research in critical pedagogy that highlights the importance of raising learners' critical awareness through language, I explore how critical practices of identifying and negotiating the expression of personal opinion in multimodal texts, in an English for the Media context particularly sensitive to issues of criticality, can enhance the development of multimodal literacy. This development is informed by Design-Based Research (DBR) (McKenney &amp; Reeves, 2013), in which iteration and refinement of an intervention designed around these practices leads to the development of principles deriving from the evolution of the design. [For the complete volume, &quot;Tertiary Education Language Learning: A Collection of Research,&quot; see ED614100.]
University of Cambridge Asian, Middle Eastern and Persian Studies during the Pandemic
Author: Ghaffari, Mahbod
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Universities,Online Courses,Teaching Methods,Distance Education,Middle Eastern Studies,Foreign Countries,COVID-19,Pandemics,College Faculty,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Indo European Languages,Instructional Leadership,Language Teachers,Educational Change,Asian Studies,Departments,Computer Mediated Communication,Teacher Attitudes,Videoconferencing,Barriers,Student Attitudes,Undergraduate Students

This case study will focus on the COVID-19 lecturers' experience in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (FAMES) at the University of Cambridge. After a brief background about how the academic year works in the University of Cambridge and an introduction about the situation after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK, the author will discuss about the measures taken by the faculty and the way the teaching was conducted in the FAMES in general and Persian language courses in particular. Then, the challenges and problems regarding online teaching in Department of Middle Eastern Studies (DMES) will be highlighted. Finally, a short explanation about the way the examination and assessment were handled in the faculty will be provided. The findings show excellent management and steady leadership turned the classic classroom-based teaching to remote and online teaching. Also, professional collaboration and performance of lecturers along with the ongoing technical and training support were the main factors to go through the critical phase of the pandemic's impact successfully. It seems that the language teachers have gained valuable experience and skills in teaching languages differently, which can be deployed in future post pandemic situations. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
COVID-19 Emergency Teaching: From CULP to Remote CULP
Author: Radic, Nebojša
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: COVID-19,Pandemics,School Closing,Distance Education,Online Courses,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Second Language Instruction,Program Development,Decision Making,Program Implementation,Program Effectiveness,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Barriers,Faculty Development,Foreign Countries

In this chapter I describe the emergency delivery of the Cambridge University institution-wide Language Programme (CULP) during the COVID-19 lockdown in March-July 2020. I am the Director of the Programme and report from a managerial point of view. I begin by outlining the institutional context and the student and teaching staff backgrounds. I proceed by describing the decision-making process, the rationale behind the decisions, the steps taken in preparation for the ?nline, remote delivery of the teaching, and the delivery itself. The chapter reports on measurable student performance as well as formal and informal student and teacher feedback. The chapter concludes by drawing the relevant conclusions about this unique professional experience, the changes we witness in communication, teaching, and learning patterns, and outlining a possible way forward. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
Students&apos; Attitudes towards Digital Artefact Creation through Collaborative Writing: The Case of a Spanish for Specific Purposes Class
Author: Soulé, María Victoria
Date: 2021-05-03
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Student Attitudes,College Students,Collaborative Writing,Languages for Special Purposes,Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Spanish,Web 2.0 Technologies,Technology Integration,Synchronous Communication,Asynchronous Communication,Revision (Written Composition),Group Dynamics,Foreign Countries

Studies on collaborative writing practices are not new (Reynolds, Wooley, &amp; Wooley, 1911), neither is the interest in collaborative writing supported by computers (Sharples, 1993). With the advent of Web 2.0, there has been an immense increase in research examining web-based collaborative writing, particularly in L2 contexts (Cho, 2017; Kessler, 2013; Sevilla-Pavón, 2015; Yim &amp; Warschauer, 2017). The present study follows this research path by analysing perceptions of technology-assisted collaborative writing as well as collaborative writing processes in a Spanish for specific purposes class. Eight students from the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Department of Communication and Internet Studies, participated in the study. The data were elicited over five collection times, which included two digital artefact creations (an out-of-class and an in-class collaborative writing task), a pre-Questionnaire (preQ) and post-Questionnaire (postQ), and a focus group interview. The analysis of the data revealed that the students' perceptions are mediated by task type, which in turn also affects collaborative writing patterns being the out-of-class activity the one that presents a wider variety of writing styles as well as a more balanced participation among students. [For the complete volume, &quot;Tertiary Education Language Learning: A Collection of Research,&quot; see ED614100.]
Teaching Arabic during the Pandemic: The Remote Online Classroom
Author: Kashef, Yasser
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: COVID-19,Pandemics,Online Courses,Distance Education,School Closing,Semitic Languages,Second Language Instruction,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Barriers,Access to Computers,Stress Variables,Teaching Methods,Teacher Competencies,Teaching Conditions,Study Abroad

The chapter gives the reader insights of teaching Arabic as a foreign language during the consequences of COVID-19. It tackles the outcomes of the spring and summer semesters in 2020 among students of Ningxia, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Cambridge, and Berlin universities. It sheds light upon the challenges faced by students, teachers, and management and how they are handled. The chapter depends on the collectives of two surveys carried out by the Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) team. It includes students' and instructors' feedback and the means of delivery of Arabic classes amid the pandemic. It also covers the needs of the online classroom in Arabic as a foreign language. It shares language achievements during the pandemic, and recommendations for the future. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
COVID-19 and the Autonomous University of Barcelona: Current Trends on Language Teaching and Learning Strategies
Author: Oliver del Olmo, Sonia
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: COVID-19,Pandemics,Foreign Countries,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Technical Support,Training,Online Courses,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),School Closing,Web Sites,Faculty Development

When COVID-19 emerged, it meant many changes as to health specific measures for prevention as well as social, political, and educational considerations to cope with a completely new situation which necessitated very quick responses. In this sense, this worldwide pandemic implied challenges in terms of decision-making at the highest level, the key involvement of universities' technical support (taking into account pedagogical and logistics considerations) and very specific training for teaching staff to design materials and facilitate both remote tuition and students' assignments delivery and feedback. In this chapter, I will describe the design and development of a new interactive scenario where lecturers and students keep their teaching and learning practices working under very exceptional circumstances as it is the case of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). This institution has shown a very effective plan based on constant technical support and training, staff's full commitment to their new remote online language teaching and students' flexibility and willingness to learn within their English Studies degree despite an unfavourable context &quot;a priori.&quot; [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
COVID-19-Driven Sudden Shift to Remote Teaching: The Case of the Languages for the Community Program at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral
Author: Gastaldi, María del Valle
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: COVID-19,Pandemics,Second Language Instruction,School Closing,Online Courses,Distance Education,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Program Implementation,Student Attitudes,Cooperation,Knowledge Level,Teaching Methods,Technological Literacy,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Faculty Development,Teacher Attitudes,College Faculty,College Students

The Languages for the Community Program (LCP), one of the units that make up the Language Center at Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Santa Fe, República Argentina, is an extension service provided to people 17 years of age and older that live in Santa Fe or in neighboring towns, and to UNL students wishing to take language courses other than those offered in their own study programs. Since 1999 when they started, these language courses have been taught in a traditional face-to-face modality. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the way in which the first term in 2020 had to suddenly shift to remote teaching and how this shift was devised, coordinated, delivered, and evaluated in response to the unexpected context provoked by the outbreak of COVID-19. The chapter also reports the changes implemented during the second term according to the results of a satisfaction survey administered to students. Collaborative work, previous expertise, and methodological principles allowed the staff at LCP to offer a quality educational response to this paradigm shift in foreign language teaching and learning. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
Remote Online Teaching in Modern Languages in Germany: Responses According to Audiences and Teaching Objectives
Author: Schmied, Josef
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Translation,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Masters Programs,Graduate Students,Undergraduate Students,Integrated Learning Systems,Teaching Methods,English (Second Language),COVID-19,Pandemics,Educational Objectives,Diachronic Linguistics,Cultural Education,Seminars,Language Processing,Second Languages,Language Usage,Resilience (Psychology),Technological Literacy,Computational Linguistics,Online Courses,Audiences,Modern Languages,Departments,Educational Opportunities,Foreign Countries,Access to Computers,Barriers,Student Attitudes

This chapter reports on the 'Corona teaching' in a department of English studies at a German university of technology. It discusses the general frame in the German university system and in this specific department, faculty and university. It focuses on the responses depending on participants and learning objectives. One larger lecture for 1st year Bachelor of Arts (BA) students used Moodle to teach a traditional knowledge transfer course, the 'History of English language and culture'. One smaller seminar used Big Blue Button (BBB) to teach a more interactive Master of Arts (MA) course on 'Translation theory and technology'. The overall experience was positive for the good students who managed the challenge well, but it was negative for others who were less privileged in their technical equipment or their resilience. Some losses included more social class activities; opportunities included additional learning in the media and digital contexts -- possibly invaluable advantages for further developments for modern foreign language specialists in future. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
The University of Rwanda Response to COVID-19
Author: Uwizeyimana, Valentin
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,COVID-19,Pandemics,School Closing,Colleges,Online Courses,Distance Education,Readiness,Access to Computers,Technical Support,Training,Barriers,College Faculty,Student Attitudes,College Students,Teacher Attitudes

The universities in Rwanda, like in other countries, experienced uncertainty created by restrictions and lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of Coronavirus. None of the universities were prepared to face disruptions of this scale, however, learning had to continue irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the case of the University of Rwanda (UR), this chapter discusses the Rwandan university's response to COVID-19, presents the lessons learnt, and provides recommendations that might help universities and researchers in the future. This chapter reports on a qualitative study that analysed the university's news articles and official communications with regards to COVID-19 that were collected during a seven-month period. The findings revealed that the university was not indeed prepared to continue its teaching and learning activities remotely online, and that the decision to go online was top-down. Furthermore, it pointed out the lack of access to the required infrastructure and tools, the lack of technical support and training, and the digital divide that exists among students, as the major challenges to a successful remote online teaching and learning process. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
Creating Communities of Practice: The Harvard Language Center&apos;s Role in Supporting Language Instruction during the Pandemic
Author: Ross, Andrew F.
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Closing,Online Courses,Distance Education,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,COVID-19,Pandemics,Blended Learning,Faculty Development,Second Language Instruction,College Faculty,Workshops,Teacher Competencies

When Harvard University moved all instruction into an online modality in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Language Center positioned itself as a critical source of guidance on best practices in this new environment. For Harvard, an institution that has always prioritized face-to-face instruction above all other formats, 2020 has been a watershed moment that has forced faculty to reconsider nearly everything about the way they organize and deliver their courses. Owing to the pandemic crisis, we find ourselves in a moment in which the efficacy of these modalities in language learning is, despite initial concerns, being proven day after day. In the context of this crisis, The Language Center has developed training and support mechanisms for this transition, focusing on desired learning outcomes, centering instructor and student experience, and positioning the language faculty to be able to successfully employ hybrid and online approaches to instruction that will continue to serve them well after the crisis abates. This contribution describes the strategies and actions that The Language Center took to ensure the success of the remote teaching and learning of languages at Harvard University in the first term of the 2020-2021 academic year, after the emergency evacuation of campus in March of 2020, and offers a model for other centers engaged in academic support. While extensive insights on the success of these efforts are still pending, given the timing of this crisis and the interventions undertaken, early feedback suggests that faculty have found provided resources to be useful, and their intention is to adopt aspects of technologically-mediated instruction in their face-to-face teaching going forward. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]
Online Training of Prospective Language Teachers: Exploring a New Model
Author: Zheng, Hang
Date: 2021-05-24
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Online Courses,Teacher Education Programs,Chinese,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Videoconferencing,Student Attitudes,Computer Mediated Communication,Communities of Practice,Content Analysis,Intercultural Communication,Communicative Competence (Languages),Peer Evaluation,Feedback (Response),Language Teachers,Practicums,Teaching Methods,Masters Programs,COVID-19,Pandemics,Native Speakers,Educational Benefits,Teaching Skills,Self Esteem,Personal Autonomy,Cultural Awareness,Foreign Countries

This chapter reports on a language teaching practicum course of a Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) program in China in Fall 2020. Driven by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report presents a model to guide practice in online language teacher training via virtual learning communities. In the course, native and nonnative students in the MTCSOL program formed study groups in which they conducted discussions regarding the lectures and completed teaching demonstrations through videoconferences. All students provided online feedback on their peers' teaching demonstrations. The content analysis of post-task interviews revealed that both native and nonnative students benefited from online interactions. Nonnative students had opportunities to practice language and professional skills, while native students developed intercultural communication competence. Peer feedback was also highly rated, as feedback receivers had different perspectives on how to improve their teaching, and feedback providers learned from their peers' strengths and weaknesses. We argue that the model can (1) promote learning autonomy and cultural exchange and (2) boost teachers' self-confidence, which could thus become a desirable new model for language teacher training. [For the complete volume, &quot;The World Universities' Response to COVID-19: Remote Online Language Teaching,&quot; see ED614006.]