Category: task-based language teaching

F.A.I.R. FOR ALL: AI’s impact on settlement & language learning

Two Canadian organizations, ARAISA (Atlantic Region Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies) and ISANS (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia) are presenting a series of hour-long webinars for language instructors from September 2024 to March 2025. The webinars focus on Canadian settlement and language programs, referencing Federal Guidelines for AI’s emergence in the sector, LINC,the Canadian Language Benchmarks and Avenue.ca’s Program Standards for Technical Language Learning. The presenters stress the importance of instructors’ expertise. They also advocate for learning how AI tools can help in the classroom.

The webinars do not assume that viewers are expert users. They offer engaging introductions to and examples of using Generative AI in teaching language. Highlights of the webinars include the application of a principled, ethical, transparent approach to using AI; examples of how the presenters have created prompts to obtain the results they want; a first hand intro to Roshi.ai, a popular tool; and resources and reference lists.

You can either register and attend the live presentations on the dates noted in the link below or download the recordings at your leisure.

These are the titles of the webinars:

*”Faster:” Federal Guidelines, Considerations and Practical Examples of AI’s Emergence in the Settlement Sector

*Tools & Rules: AI for Innovative Language Instruction, Guidelines for Instructors, and Ethical Considerations

*AI in Practice – Turning Challenges into Opportunities

*Share Practical AI Experiences and Next Steps in Building a Community of Practice

*Working Smarter: Effective Material Production & Tailoring EAL Instruction to Individual Needs

*Addressing AI Use in Asynchronous Writing Tasks: Instructor Strategies & Program Adaptations

*Future Trends: AI in Education: Predict how AI will Shape Language learning, Classroom Dynamics, and Teacher Roles

Retrievable from:

https://araisa.ca/fa-i-r-for-all-ais-impact-on-settlement-language-learning/

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.

Technology-Mediated Language Training: Developing and Assessing a Module for a Blended Curriculum for Newcomers

McLellan, G., Kartchava, E., & Rodgers, M. (2021). Technology-Mediated Language Training: Developing and Assessing a Module for a Blended Curriculum for Newcomers. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 24(2), 177–202.

This paper reports on a study done in partnership with a Canadian program that includes networking, employment and second language training. It investigates the development of a blended second language curriculum for high beginner learners employed in customer service, using a task-based framework. The study looked specifically at learners who cannot consistently attend face-to-face classes and therefore provided support on mobile devices for convenient access when needed. Newcomers in the program meet with a volunteer teacher weekly with a focus on workplace language, but there was a need for more occupation-specific language training needed in addition to these meetings with the understanding that it would build on the face-to-face meetings.

The paper includes a literature review of Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Mobile-Assisted Language Learning, Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching and Needs Analysis and Technology-Mediated TBLT. This is followed by a description of a module focused on greetings and requests used in customer service, with examples of questions, video examples and comments from learners and teachers.

Retrievable from:

https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/CJAL/article/view/31533

Engagement, Technology, and Language Tasks: Optimizing Student Learning

Egbert, J.(2020). Engagement, Technology, and Language Tasks: Optimizing Student Learning. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 2 (4) 110-118.  

This paper presents six engagement facilitators that promote increased learner achievement and demonstrates how technology can be used to help with implementing the facilitators. Two examples of these facilitators are authenticity, i.e., that the task is relevant to learners’ lives; and the level of difficulty or challenge in a task, i.e., the perception that a task is doable but requires some effort. The author elaborates on each one of these. A model of language task engagement is accompanied by the suggestion that instructors start with one or more of the facilitators in their planning. The author also provides suggestions for creating tasks and using the facilitators in classroom settings.

Retrievable from: https://www.tesolunion.org/journal/details/info/8NzcudYWRh/Engagement,-Technology,-and-Language-Tasks:-Optimizing-Student-Learning

Technology-mediated task-based language teaching: A qualitative research synthesis

Chong S.W., & Reinders H. (2020). Technology-mediated task-based language teaching: A qualitative research synthesis. Language Learning & Technology, 24(3), 70–86.

This report synthesizes data from 16 (14 of the 16 focus on ESL or EFL studies) research studies that examined technology-mediated task-based language teaching, in second and foreign language classrooms between 2002 and 2017. Results of a literature search using identified keywords on digital libraries, major refereed journals and the World Wide Web; and a reference list that identifies the 16 research studies are provided in addition to the descriptions of the findings of each research study. The findings are presented as five affordances noted across the studies, e.g., Facilitating Collaborations, Interactions, and Communications.

Retrievable from:

https://www.lltjournal.org/item/3162