Instructors – Adult Settlement Blended Language Learning: Selected Annotated Bibliography

Teachers’ use of generative AI: a ‘dirty little secret’?

Barnes, Melissa, and Ekaterina Tour. 2025. “Teachers’ Use of Generative AI: A ‘Dirty Little Secret’?” Language and Education, April, 1–16.

This article reports on a study of how a group of English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers in Australia perceive and use generative AI in their teaching. The article draws on data from a larger study that examined Generative AI in the Australian education system.

The teachers were asked to respond to the following questions:

From your perspective, what are generative AI technologies?

Have you used generative AI in your teaching practices? If so, why and in what con- text? Provide examples.

From your perspective, what are the benefits of generative AI for adult EAL students? (p.6)

The analysis of responses to these questions demonstrated that teachers recognize the potential of generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot) to enhance language learning and teaching. However, they also express concerns about when, where, and how it should be used, particularly regarding authenticity, integrity, and ethical implications.

The article discusses these findings through the lens of a framework of entangled pedagogy and teacher agency, Fawns (2022) in which technology, pedagogy, teacher agency and context mutually shape one another and that the relationship of pedagogy and technology is better understood by recognising the complexities of relational and contextual factors.

The authors argue that teacher agency is a “key concept in understanding how teachers and students interact with generative AI within learning and teaching contexts, particularly in how their individual capacities or capabilities (e.g. knowledge of generative AI), and relational and contextual factors (e.g. relationships teachers and students and/or access to generative AI) might influence their engagement with generative AI.” (p.5)

Although teachers acknowledged their agency to use AI responsibly, and their intentionality in using generative AI to create resources and to support learning, many chose to conceal their use of it due to relational and contextual pressures. The findings highlight the tension between AI’s promise to empower teachers and the challenges it poses to professional identity, pedagogical integrity, and trust in language education.

Retrievable from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09500782.2025.2485935#abstract

Environmental Scan: Application of AI in Settlement Services

Toronto East Quadrant Local Immigration Partnership (2024). Environmental Scan: Application of AI in Settlement Services. (Carolina Berinstein and John Saunders, CB Consulting).

This article reports the findings of an environmental scan on the application of AI (Artificial Intelligence) within the Toronto East Quadrant Local Immigration Partnership. Although the findings are not representative of the whole sector, this report offers a timely snapshot of current use of AI in this particular region as well as a discussion of the opportunities and challenges of AI, and a preliminary discussion of the development of guidelines and policies (with some examples) for the use of AI in settlement organizations.

Based on a literature review, a survey of members of the Toronto East Quadrant Local Immigration Partnership, and key informant interviews the report shows a growing interest in exploring and implementing AI in all aspects of settlement services (including language teaching and learning).

AI tools are being developed for services in the settlement sector including integration support, employment-related skill training and overcoming language barriers. Respondents whose organization are using AI reported using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini (from Google), Copilot (from Microsoft) and Google Translate, among others. One respondent reported the use of AI for class activities and lesson plans.

While interest in and use of AI is growing organizations in the settlement sector, as it is generally in Canada (According to the report of a survey of 2000 Canadians released in July 2025 by CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority), AI use by Canadians has increased from 16% in 2024 to 33% in 2025), to date there are few examples of fully developed guidelines and policies for the use of AI in settlement organizations.

This report includes a comprehensive discussion of the need for such guidelines and polices in the sector to support the ethical use of AI, and provides links to guidelines and policies developed by organization in the Canadian non-profit sector.

Retrievable from: https://accesemployment.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Environmental-Scan_-Application-of-AI-in-Settlement-Services.pdf

Language Learning for Refugees and Immigrants: Innovative Approaches

Perez Peguero, L. (2024). Language Learning for Refugees and Immigrants: Innovative Approaches. International Journal of Enhanced Research in Educational Development (IJERED). 12 (2) 135-144.

This research report presents a succinct description of the potential shortcomings of traditional classroom-based language learning. Alongside this the author describes potential innovative responses to the challenges faced by refugees and immigrants as they work towards developing language proficiency.

Since immigrants and refugees need language skills not only to communicate, but also for social inclusion, the author gives examples of how innovative programming can motivate learners, encourage cross-cultural exchanges and respond to learners’ specific needs. She provides brief descriptions of case studies, success stories and challenges. The case studies range from community building through a new neighbour initiative, to experiential learning through a refugee cooking class language exchange program, to a mobile language learning app for refugee youth. In each case, she addresses the importance of accessibility, cultural sensitivity and empowering learners through valuing what they bring to the program.

The report concludes with recommendations for building on lessons learned throughout the initiatives and continuing to address challenges and needs.

Retrievable from:

https://www.erpublications.com/uploaded_files/download/lisset-perez-peguero_NZcZt.pdf

Bridging Language Gaps: Empowering Newcomers to Canada through Mobile Microlearning

Jodrey, H. (2024). Bridging Language Gaps: Empowering Newcomers to Canada through Mobile Microlearning. ETAD (Educational Technology & Design) Summer Institute Proceedings 2024, Saskatoon, Canada.

This article examines and proposes the development of a mobile microlearning platform for LINC clients to support the development of language skills and integration into the community.

The article addresses the following questions (pp.3-4):

How can a mobile microlearning platform effectively address the needs and challenges faced by LINC clients on waitlists, particularly in terms of accessibility, flexibility, and engagement?

What design principles are essential for creating a user-centered, accessible online microlearning platform informed by relevant learning theories?

In what ways can AI-enhanced technologies, such as multimodal chatbots capable of processing both speech and text input, be integrated into the platform to enhance personalized and meaningful language learning and provide real-time feedback?

How can the integration of digital literacy training within the platform ensure that LINC learners are equipped with the necessary skills to fully engage with online learning and succeed in a digital society?

The author outlines the barriers that newcomers may face in accessing LINC programming, including significant waiting lists, delays in assessment, and difficulties in attending scheduled LINC classes due to work and family commitments.

In response to these challenges the author describes how a mobile microlearning platform has the potential to support learners as they begin their language learning journey. Such a platform could be particularly helpful to learners in that it allows for microlearning, focussing on one concept at a time and therefore reducing cognitive load. Accessing the platform on a smartphone could enable learners to engage in learning wherever and whenever they can. The integration of AI enhanced technologies such as multimodal chatbots in the platform could support learners in providing personalized learning and allowing learners to develop conversational skills. The use of multimodal chatbots could also help to reduce the anxiety which many language learners experience when practicing their language skills in front of others.

Although the development of such a mobile microlearning platform holds much promise the author emphasizes that such a platform should be seen as a complement and not as a replacement for formal language education. The author argues that further research is needed, focussing on the effectiveness and appropriateness of microlearning and AI chatbots in language education, the ethical considerations relating to the use of AI, and the scalability and adaptability of such a platform.

Retrievable from: https://harvest.usask.ca/items/2b3af241-6485-4884-824e-019be0f02397/full

Technostress and English language teaching in the age of generative AI

Kohnke, L., Zou, D., & Moorhouse, B. L. (2024). Technostress and English language teaching in the age of generative AI.
Educational Technology & Society, 27(2), 306-320.

This article offers a description, examination and discussion of “technostress” in the field of language instruction. The authors describe technostress as “…a current-day affliction among teachers that impacts their ability to adjust and respond healthily to the increased use of innovative technologies” (p.307).

The context of the study is EFL instruction in Hong Kong, in relation to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the language learning field. However, the interview responses of the participant instructors, and the discussion of the factors that influence technostress and strategies to alleviate its impact have significant relevance for the ESL community, including instructors, programs and curriculum designers, who are all likely to encounter similar challenges in relation to the integration of a range of digital technologies, including AI tools such as ChatGPT in language instruction.

The authors outline five factors that influence technostress as described by Tarafdar (2019). Briefly, these are: Techno-complexity (the need to constantly learn how to use new technologies), Techno-overload (the proliferation of technology causes us to modify our work habits etc.), Techno-invasion (the need to use personal time to learn about new technologies etc.), Techno-insecurity (anxiety that new technologies will lead to job loss), Techno-uncertainty (uneasiness due to the frequent changes and updates to technology tools, etc.).

Based on the analysis of the qualitative date in this study and a review of the literature, the authors discuss strategies to alleviate technostress. These include the following:

Enabling instructors to develop or enhance Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to support effective integration of technology.

Online Engagement, whereby instructors have opportunities to share knowledge about the integration and use of technology with their peers and colleagues in collaborative communities of practice.

Gradual and realistic expectations, whereby the integration of new technologies is incremental.

Institutional support and clear policies and incentives so that instructors have a clearer understanding of expectations and access to professional learning opportunities.

Retrievable from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378774496_Technostress_and_English_language_teaching_in_the_age_of_generative_AI

Developing Targeted Technology Standards for Avenue language instructors, programs, and learners: an initiative of New Language Solutions

Allan, J., Healey, D., Hubbard, P., Kessler, G., McBride, R., Rajabi, S., and Sturm, M. (2024) Developing Targeted Technology Standards for Avenue language instructors, programs, and learners: an initiative of New Language Solutions. TESL Ontario Contact Magazine, 50 (1) 16-30.

Authors of this report in TESL Ontario’s Spring 2024 Contact magazine provide insight to New Language Solutions’ (NLS) approach to developing technology standards specifically targeted to instructors in Canada’s settlement language sector and that will be integrated into NLS’s online teacher training and leadership training. It describes the ongoing activities related to the standards that are intended to create a culture of continuous improvement around technology in learning environments. This includes regular reviews and updates of the standards as needed.

The report gives examples of the collaborative, online process the team used to trim the language in the standards and the performance indicators so they are as direct and clear as possible. The report links to a request form for the full set of standards but it also gives a brief overview of the seven standards along with a fuller example of “Standard 4, about digital literacy and digital citizenship for yourself and your learners.”.

The report outlines the evaluation process the standards followed, lays out the plan that will integrate the standards in instructor training and microcredentials, with the aim of sector-wide, consistent, deep understanding of the standards; and emphasizes ongoing initiatives that will generate data about the impact of the standards on programs.

A list of references is followed by a sample vignette that describes an instructor’s thoughts and experiences as she incorporates the standards into her instruction.

Teaching the pronunciation of vowels on Zoom

Tiittanen, M. (2022) Teaching the Pronunciation of Vowels on Zoom. TESL Ontario Contact Magazine, 48 (3) 15-20.

The author presents suggestions for teaching vowels using synchronous video. He includes information about the advantages of doing this, e.g., the ESL teacher being able to magnify their mouth, tongue, lips and jaw. A benefit for the ESL learner is that they can see their own mouths on-screen as they attempt the same sounds and compare them with the teacher’s model.

Tiittanen provides a brief reference list to support his suggestions for teaching a number of vowels. In addition to describing teaching methods he also includes helpful videos to illustrate this in action and gives the reader a link to his Pronunciation Channel on YouTube. This enables ESL learners to view the videos to practise as often as they want.

In addition to valuable information about how to teach using Zoom or other synchronous video, Tiittanen discusses the safety concerns that were a key aspect of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as issues of classroom noise and personal space and distance that are still relevant for pronunciation teachers as the pandemic recedes.

Retrievable from:

http://contact.teslontario.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Tiittanen.pdf

Ten years later: Reexamining the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers

Sun, X. (2022). Ten years later: Reexamining the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers. TESOL Journal, 13(e684).

A research team interviewed a panel of practitioners with expertise and experience in language teaching, computer-assisted language learning and instructional technology to explore whether the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers are still applicable today and what updates might be needed. The panel validated the Standards’ continued applicability, with recommendations for how they should be updated.

In addition to addressing these questions, the report includes the four practitioners’ thoughtful responses reflecting their own experience with teaching with technology in the Findings (5). It also includes their recommendations for updating the performance indicators in the Standards and by considering issues that have emerged since they were developed, e.g., mobile applications and learner data privacy among others.

Retrievable from:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tesj.684

Building ESL Learners’ Digital Literacy Skills Using Internet Memes

Nguyen, N., Chambers, W., & Abbott, M. Building ESL Learners’ Digital Literacy Skills Using Internet Memes. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL du Canada, 39(1), 83-103.

This article examines and describes how internet memes can be used to support and enhance ESL learners’ digital skills. Internet memes are humourous and engaging ideas, images, and phrases that spread from person to person through online sharing, particularly on social media. (Here is a link to a short, clear explanation of memes: The Now- What is a Meme?)

Having provided a general introduction to memes and a description of popular internet memes the authors examine memes in the context of language learning in relation to the Digital Literacies Framework for Language Learning developed by Mark Pegrum and colleagues (Digital Literacies Revisited). This framework outlines the essential digital skills which language learners need to participate in a digital society, and focuses on four competencies, the ability to communicate; use information; collaborate; and re-design or create new meanings.

Based on this framework the authors provide a Meme Selection and Implementation Guide for ESL instructors. They also provide an Exemplar Meme Task for use with Intermediate ESL learners (CLBs 5-8; Common European Framework (CEFR) B1-2) intended to support the development of language and digital literacy skills and which has also been piloted in a CLB 5 LINC class as part of a module on Canadian workplace culture

Retrievable from: https://teslcanadajournal.ca/index.php/tesl/article/view/1553

Teachers’ technology-related self-images and roles: Exploring CALL teachers’ professional identity

Shafiee, Z., Marandi, S. S., & Mirzaeian, V. R. Teachers’ technology-related self images and roles: Exploring CALL teachers’ professional identity. Language Learning & Technology, 26(1), 1–20.

This article describes a small, preliminary study examining the professional identity of language instructors who actively integrate technology with language instruction. and are described as CALL teachers. The goal of the study is to extend understanding of what the authors describe as CALLTPI, (CALL teachers’ professional identity).

The study is based on an extensive review of literature exploring teacher identity, defined as “teachers’ self images and perceptions that “determine the way teachers teach, the way they develop as teachers, and their attitudes towards educational changes”(p.3)and the use of a semi-structured interview methodology in which 24 CALL teacher educators, academics who taught CALL courses and used technology to teach language-related subjects, and classroom language instructors who used digital technology in virtual, blended or technology enhanced learning environments. The interview questions were designed to explore CALL teachers’ “perceived teaching roles, self-image, confidence, sense of self-efficacy, skills, and knowledge that contribute to enacting their teaching roles, solving pedagogical and technical problems, dealing with ethical challenges, and making decisions in technology-enhanced teaching environments.”

Based on these interviews the authors identify three major themes related to teacher identity. These are individual identity, classroom-based identity, and agentive identity. Individual identity is understood as their roles as professionals who use technology, classroom-based identity as their roles as teachers who integrate technology in their classrooms and agentive identity as playing an active role in the integration and use of technology, in supporting and influencing students in the effective use of technology for learning and serving as role models for students and colleagues.

The authors note the need for further research on teacher professional identity related to computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and to help inform the work of curriculum designers and material developers in the area language instruction.

Retrievable from: https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/95924c83-7fea-4d5b-bf28-a37c7be3fbda/content

Strengthening Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada: Learning from Experiences in Saskatoon

Nadia Maqbool. “Strengthening Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada: Learning from Experiences in Saskatoon” M.Ed. Thesis. University of Saskatchewan, 2022.

This M.Ed. thesis from the University of Saskatchewan documents a very recent study examining the learning needs of new ESL LINC instructors as they begin their teaching careers.

The research questions focussed on what is expected of these instructors in their workplaces, the challenges they encounter and the supports they need. Using a qualitative research methodology, the researcher surveyed new ESL LINC instructors in Saskatoon to arrive at a clearer understanding of their experiences, and to identify potential actions to improve the overall orientation, training, and ongoing professional development process for ESL LINC instructors.

In general, these instructors indicated a need for more support and guidance in understanding the LINC system, the CLB and PBLA, and a need for more robust technical support in LINC programs, and enhanced support in the effective use of technology for online, blended, and remote teaching and learning.

Participants identified concerns about their unfamiliarity with digital technologies, lack of experience in online teaching, and the ongoing challenges of confronting technical issues in virtual classrooms. In addition, participants expressed concerns about the challenges of online and blended learning environments in working with learners at CLB Levels 1-4, and concurrent issues in supporting learners who may not have sufficient familiarity with digital technologies and have ongoing needs for technical supports.

Based on participant responses, the study includes recommendations for practices that could enhance the experience of new ESL LINC instructors, including assigning mentors to new instructors, providing clear instructions on online and blended learning, and a thorough orientation to software and applications in use in LINC classrooms.

Retrievable from : https://harvest.usask.ca/handle/10388/13827

Google Translate as a Tool for Self-Directed Language Learning

van Lieshout, C., & Cardoso, W. (2022). Google Translate as a tool for self-directed language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 26(1), 1–19.

Many language learners have to overcome obstacles when they want to learn a new language. This may result in them making attempts to learn the language on their own. This study looks at three features that define successful self-directed learners: self-motivation, use of independent learning strategies and an ability to self-assess whether those strategies are effective. The authors look to affordances of Google Translate that can help to enable self-directed learning.

The study provides background on both self-directed learning and self-directed language learning and examines the impact of Google Translate on the latter in the areas of vocabulary and pronunciation.

The study explored these two questions:

To what extent can learners acquire phrases and their pronunciations after using Google Translate in a self-directed language learning environment?

How do learners interact with Google Translate to learn an L2?

Although the study looked at learners of Dutch as a foreign language, because Google Translate is widely available, the findings will be of interest for many learners who want to learn and continue to learn on their own and to teachers who would like to include some of these self-directed tools for use beyond the classroom.

Retrievable from:

https://www.lltjournal.org/item/10125-73460/

Here are two quite different studies of Google Translate in second language learning:

A “Hands-On” Approach to Raise Awareness of Technologies: A Pilot Class and its Lessons

Retrievable from:

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3ds2d55b

Using an ADAPT Approach to Integrate Google Translate into the Second Language Classroom

Retrievable from:

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dm2p4bb

Pedagogical lessons for Remote/Blended Online Classrooms

Englander, K. & Russell, B. TESL Ontario Contact November 28, 2021.

This article reports on insights gained during a COVID-19 pivot to remote teaching and learning in a university language program. Five key practices emerged from how learners and instructors handled the new technology-mediated curriculum. The article references the Community of Inquiry framework and its origins at Athabasca University in Alberta two decades ago. The framework was used to inform curriculum design and a research study on remote teaching and learning in the 2020-21 year, during COVID-19. The report discusses the three presences from the framework: cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence. These three presences are identified as central to learners’ experience in online teaching and learning. The research from this program indicated that the most important presence for learner satisfaction was teaching presence. Social presence during the phase reported on, was the least satisfactory in that learners did not feel they met other “real” students, that they were not able to build connections with either the class or the school.

As a result of the data collected, the program put together these five best practices that aim to maximize already positive teaching presence and enhance social presence.

Your presence makes the difference.
Keep cameras on.
Create lecturettes.
Make learning affordances explicit.
Reconsider assessment.

Here are two examples of the five best practices:

When using a platform that allows cameras, keep all cameras on. Students said that seeing each other was much more satisfying during synchronous sessions. Despite valid concerns about privacy, students could be disengaged if they could not see their classmates; occasionally students were not physically online when there was no camera; and in break out rooms, when faces were represented by a shaded thumbnail, it was difficult to have discussions. Faces and voices were important for intellectual interaction with course content and other learners.

Create “lecturettes”. Classes in this program were normally three hours long, twice a week, in a classroom. When this was rethought for online delivery, one of the new components was a one-hour pre-recorded lecture to be watched before a synchronous class. After learners reacted negatively to these hour-long lectures, instructors experimented with breaking the content into more manageable 5-, 10- or 20-minute lecturettes. This type of content was managed by numbering the segments so the order was obvious. Learners could take advantage of these shorter content bursts using pause, rewind and replay as desired.

The remaining three best practices, Your presence makes the difference, Make affordances explicit and Reconsider assessment also provide excellent examples of how to help instructors make research-informed decisions about their own teaching in an online environment.

Retrievable from:

http://contact.teslontario.org/pedagogical-lessons-for-remote-blended-online-classrooms/

The What, Why, Who and How of Blended Learning for Adult Basic Skills Learners

Rosen, D., Vanek, J. The What, Why, Who and How of Blended Learning for Adult Basic Skills Learners. New York, New Readers Press, 2020.

This publication offers a practical and Clear Language guide to the implementation of a Blended Learning model in adult education programs. The guide is addressed to educators, program coordinators and curriculum developers. The guide was developed in the United States where adult basic education programs include language programs for immigrants, e.g., ESL, ESOL and ELL. There are specific examples for blended language learning throughout the guide.

This useful guide is divided into 9 sections:

Introduction – a general description of the contents.

What is blended learning? – a definition and explanation of blended learning in the context of adult learning.

Why use a blended learning approach? – a comprehensive discussion and explanation of the features and benefits of blended learning.

Getting Started – a clear explanation of the issues to be considered when planning the implementation of a blended learning approach.

What does blended learning look like – a set of case studies from a range of programs in the U.S., describing the experiences of instructors and learning in working with blended learning.

What online resources work with blended learning? – strategies to locate and use online resources in a blended learning environment.

What are some common challenges in implementing blended learning? – a discussion, based on interactions with instructors and observation of blended learning in adult learning settings, of the challenges faced by instructors, coordinators and learners in implementing blended learning.

Conclusion – a short summary of the contents of the guide.

Appendices – lists of online resources for further reading and exploration.

Retrievable from: https://www.newreaderspress.com/filebin/pdf/ProLiteracy_BlendedLearningGuide_2020-11.pdf

Broadening Perspectives on CALL Teacher Education: From Technocentrism to Integration

Asiri, A., Rajeh, H. S., Panday-Shukla, P., & Yu, Y. (2021). Broadening perspectives on CALL teacher education: From technocentrism to integration. Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 24(4).

This paper looks at four approaches that provide teachers with strategies that prepare them to emphasize language and content, to work on the 21st century skills their learners need and to use technologies in diverse contexts and with diverse learners. The paper is clear that training on software or specific technologies is not always what teachers need or can use in their classrooms.

The authors present four strategies:

Content curation
Educational escape rooms
Flipped instruction
Informal blended learning

Each strategy is described in detail, followed by a class scenario; a list of benefits to learners and language learning; a list of benefits to language teachers and teaching; and a summary.

Retrievable from: https://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume24/ej96/ej96a8/

A person-centred approach to L2 learners’ informal mobile language learning

Peng, H., Sake,J., Lowie, W. (2021). A person-centred approach to L2 learners informal mobile language learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning. [Published Online January 2021]

The study investigated the informal mobile language learning activities of the students, using a person-centred approach which the authors define as an approach which “…views each individual as a functioning whole, with interwoven components jointly contributing to the process of individual development”: (p.5) The components include individual learning behaviours, motivation, emotion and learning context. This approach, rather than viewing the components as separate variables, seeks to view them as interrelated and as pointing to a learning pattern.

Cluster analysis of the data from a questionnaire resulted in the identification of 6 types of learners each with what the researchers describe as “a distinct package of motivational, emotional and linguistic interaction. The “learner types” ranged from those who spent little or no time on language learning outside the classroom to those who made extensive use of mobile technologies for informal language learning.

Although this article reports on the methodology and results of a study conducted with 240 English language students in a Chinese university, the methodology used and the findings, will be of interest to researchers and language instructors in a variety of language learning contexts. The article provides an accessible explanation of the person-centred approach and its potential to help to develop a clearer and finer-grained understanding of the complexities and possibilities of mobile language learning.

In addition, the use of a person-centred approach has the potential to support instructors in the design of tailored instruction and scaffolding at all learning levels to better enable students to make productive use of self-directed, informal mobile language learning.

Retrievable from:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09588221.2020.1868532

Teaching languages online: Professional vision in the making

Meskill, C., Anthony, N. & Sadykova, G. (2020). Teaching languages online: Professional vision in the making. Language Learning & Technology, 24(3), 160–175.

This study is based on 174 surveys from practicing language educators and interviews with nine respondents, to find out more about how they see their work, noting that as educators have moved from traditional classrooms, their roles and practices have adapted to the new environments often within cultures increasingly shaped by social media. The authors emphasize the importance of teacher accounts like these in order to see connections between theory, knowledge and practice.

Following short summaries of the nine interviewees’ experience and attitudes towards online teaching, the authors report on both survey respondents’ and interviewees’ foundational stances and qualities and give examples of those from the interviews as well as from the surveys. The study then looks at attitudes to online teaching and what it demands and provides; it also describes the amount of flexibility required to achieve what is needed for effective language teaching and learning.

Retrievable from:

https://www.lltjournal.org/item/3168

Microteaching in Isolation: Fostering Autonomy and Learner Engagement through VoiceThread

Bodis, A., Reed, M., Kharchenko,Y. (2020). Microteaching in Isolation: Fostering Autonomy and Learner Engagement through Voice Thread. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 2(3), 1-12 Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 320-32.

The focus of this article is a TESOL training program at Macquarie University in Australia. Due to the restrictions imposed at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis the program needed to move rapidly to an online environment.

Online microteaching activities were developed, and a set of asynchronous tasks were developed using Voice Thread, an asynchronous communication platform whereby users can create and upload content, including text, and audio and video presentations. Voice Thread is interactive, enabling instructors and students to add comments and annotations in text, audio, and video. The article includes a description of each of the two Voice Thread Tasks developed for the course.

The evaluation of the approach demonstrated that students were able to meet the unit learning outcomes. Furthermore, the approach contributed to their overall learning in relation to feedback, the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning, and to the development of autonomy as students and teachers. The authors conclude, “We, therefore, recommend the use of VT in a systematic way combined with enabling tasks and supportive teacher presence in and outside face-to-face classes.” (p.100).

Retrievable from:

https://www.tesolunion.org/journal/details/info/0NDkucNzIw/Microteaching-in-Isolation:-Fostering-Autonomy-and-Learner-Engagement-through-VoiceThread