Online Learning – Adult Settlement Blended Language Learning: Selected Annotated Bibliography

The Power of the Voice in Facilitating and Maintaining Online Presence in the Era of Zoom and Teams

Cribb, M. (2023). The Power of the Voice in Facilitating and Maintaining Online Presence in the Era of Zoom and Teams. TESL-EJ, 27(2).

This article examines the important role of voice in creating and maintaining teacher presence, described as, “…the ‘ability to command a room, hold pupils’ attention, and create an atmosphere of focus and inspiration” in the online classroom and provides helpful advice for online instructors to improve audio quality.

The author argues that since many of the elements that support teacher presence, such as face-to-face contact and body language, are missing in the online classroom, the voice takes on a critical role as the connector between teacher and students. However, this important element is somewhat overlooked as instructors may be dependent on poor quality microphones and inadequate set-up.

In order to address these deficiencies the author has developed the Voice Audio Rating Scale (VARS) designed to assess the voice signal as it is transmitted from teacher to student using platforms such as Zoom or Teams.

This simple tool is designed to be used by language instructors to test audio quality as they prepare their online classes. The author provides useful advice on microphone quality and use to maximize audio quality so that the quality of voice can effectively support teacher presence and thus minimize issues of poor communication and student disengagement.

The author also discusses the communication and interaction challenges that can arise in hybrid teaching and learning environments and how these may be at least partially addressed through attention to audio quality.

Retrievable from: https://tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume-27/ej106/ej106int/

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

Evolving Definitions in Digital Learning: A National Framework for Categorizing Commonly Used Terms

Johnson. N. Evolving Definitions in Digital Learning: A National Framework for Categorizing Commonly Used Terms. Canadian Digital Learning Research Association. Association canadienne de recherche sur la formation en ligne. 2021.

The CDLRA has conducted national-level surveys related to online and digital learning since 2017. This report uses earlier research and the findings of the 2021 National Survey for Online and Digital Learning as a springboard to address inconsistencies and contradictions both within and between Canadian post-secondary institutions in the use of definitions for terms that fall under the umbrella “Digital learning”. Because there is strong indication that COVID-19’s aftermath will increase the demand for online and hybrid learning and flexibility in course offering delivery it will be important to know what an institution means when they use terms like online, hybrid, distance, and in-person learning. Another benefit of using common terms and definitions to describe courses is that as information is gathered about the evolution of digital learning in Canada everyone understands what is being described.

The report introduces a broad framework called The Modes of Learning Spectrum. It distinguishes first between distance learning and in-person learning, with a dividing line between these two for hybrid or blended learning.

The author goes on to provide definitions of the wide range of learning experiences that fall within these categories. They recognize the importance of capturing the variety of teaching approaches and pedagogical strategies that institutions are already using and also that a framework needs to be easy for them to adopt.

Retrievable from:

http://www.cdlra-acrfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-CDLRA-definitions-report-5.pdf

Inclusive online course design: Lessons from a pandemic

Carter, A. & Seoudi, S. Inclusive online course design: Lessons from a pandemic. TESL Ontario Contact, 48(1),19-27.

This article describes the planning and process of adapting a lively and engaging in-person ESL foundation program at Ryerson University in Toronto to an inclusive virtual learning environment during COVID-19. To support the development of an inclusive online learning environment that would create a sense of community, developers were guided by these four guiding principles that governed the design process:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in which students were offered multiple means of engagement including choices of assignment and opportunities to work individually and in groups. Classes were offered synchronously and asynchronously.

Flexibility whereby classes were offered at two different times to accommodate schedules and students who were located in different time zones. Office hours offered by instructors were flexible and students were offered options as to the digital tools they could use to complete assignments.

Digital tools to enhance community A wide range of digital tools were used to support learning and to enable students to connect with one another online and to work collaboratively.

Demonstrating personal interest in students Instructors purposely chose assignments and topics that were relevant to the lives of students. Instructors connected with students as individuals with different interests and learning needs.

Overall, students and instructors responded positively to the virtual learning environment; students reported their satisfaction with the program in general and in particular with the opportunities to remain engaged with learning and to connect with each other online. Instructors noted an increased use of English through the variety of digital tools offered.

Retrievable from : http://contact.teslontario.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Carter-Seoudi.pdf

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/

From Silos to Solutions: Toward Sustainable and Equitable Hybrid Service Delivery in the Immigrant & Refugee-Serving Sector in Canada

Liu,J., Cansu, E. D., Campana, M. Coordinated by AMSSA. Funded by IRCC. April 2021.

This report looks at the Settlement sector’s needs in the area of digital services, as a whole. COVID-19 resulted in the sector having to move to fully digital and remote service. The themes included in the report were identified through consultation within the sector and beyond from October 2020 though March 2021. The report makes a number of ambitious recommendations to IRCC using a “Now, Next, Later” framework. One of the examples of these is particularly relevant for language training as follows:

Next:
● There is also a need for consistent and ongoing training for staff, not only focused on how best they can use technology, but also how to train clients to use it in a service context.
● The sector and IRCC should develop guidelines on how to develop and implement digital literacy tools to assess clients’ digital skills. This guidance should include the provision of training materials, tools, and recommendations for agencies to support clients’ digital literacy skills.
Later:
● The sector and IRCC should develop a digital literacy competence framework conducive to the needs of the immigrant settlement sector.
● Consider a Digital Literacy Benchmark (DLB) as a complement to Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) to allow for Service Providing Organizations (SPOs) to quickly and accurately assess the digital literacy levels of newcomers to guide and support them accordingly.

Retrievable from:

https://km4s.ca/wp-content/uploads/EN-Settlement-Sector-Technology-Task-Group-final-report-and-recommendations-2021.pdf

In the section of the report on Change Management Tools & Practice, there are four tools listed that organizations can use to identify strengths and services, including The European Framework for Educators’ Digital Competence (DigCompEdu).

Retrievable from:

Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu) | EU Science Hub (europa.eu)

A New Pedagogy Is Emerging… and Online Learning Is a Key Contributing Factor

A New Pedagogy is Emerging… and online learning is a key contributing factor. Teach Online.ca (blog),Contact North, August 4, 2020.

After the COVID-19 pandemic led to enormous numbers of students being involved in remote learning beginning in 2020, this post from Contact North asks a number of questions: What does engaged learning look like in this new environment? How can online learning produce outstanding learning experiences? It discusses what adult educators in many types of settings have found during the pandemic: that it is not practical or efficient to try to teach online the way they had in person. The authors present some of the solutions educators have identified. Although the post describes changes for post-secondary students, adult language-learning students and teachers will find the descriptions and definitions of seven key developments, three emerging teaching trends and examples of innovations relevant as well. There is a link to Contact North’s Pockets of Innovations Series that looks at what educators are doing in Ontario, across Canada and internationally. The questions at the end of the post will help readers reflect on changes they have already made to their teaching, the questions learners may be asking, and the technologies that are available to them.

Retrievable from: https://teachonline.ca/tools-trends/how-teach-online-student-success/new-pedagogy-emerging-and-online-learning-key-contributing-factor

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

Planned online language education versus crisis-prompted online language teaching: Lessons for the future

Gacs, A., Goertler, S., Spasova, S. (2020). Planned online language education versus crisis-prompted online language teaching: Lessons for the future. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 380-92.

This timely article is intended to provide language teachers with “a roadmap for planning, implementing, and evaluating online education in ideal and in crisis contexts”(p.381).

The authors provide a thorough review of the processes of planning, preparation, design, implementation and evaluation of online language education under normal circumstances, and of the adjustments that must be made when teachers are asked to rapidly adapt to a crisis situation such as remote teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.

For example, the authors identify and describe the key components of a plan for emergency remote teaching. Firstly, a review of the existing curriculum to identify course components that cannot be delivered remotely and which will have to be, at least temporarily, removed. Secondly, an assessment to identify the actual needs of instructors and students in relation to technology, including hardware, connectivity and access. Finally, a plan for effective communication, to enable and support students to become engaged in remote learning.

Retrievable from:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/flan.12460

Fostering Interaction in Synchronous Online Class Sessions with Foreign Language Learners

Gruber, A. & Bauer, E. (2020). Fostering Interaction in Synchronous Online Class Sessions with Foreign Language Learners. 175-178. (Uploaded to Research Gate by author, June 17th, 2020)

This short article outlines how, in the context of COVID-19 and the urgent need to move instruction online, a second language instructor created an online learning space to support learners in a beginner German language course.

Using Learning Apps, a web 2.0 application, (a review and description of the application is available HERE) that allows for the creation of small interactive learning modules, and Kahoot, a game-based application the instructor is able to quickly develop a fully online language learning environment that enable learner collaboration and interaction. These tools were chosen because they are both free, relatively easy to use and both have robust functionality.

The article also provides recommendations on how to support instructors during this crisis to develop teaching skills and strategies that support synchronous and interactive online language learning.

Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342208277_Fostering_Interaction_in_Synchronous_Online_Class_Sessions_with_Foreign_Language_Learners

Learning Styles of Online Students in a Distance LINC Program

Elsageyer, N. (2020) Learning Styles of Online Students in a Distance LINC Program. M.A. Thesis. University of Ottawa.

This thesis describes and provides the findings of a small scale study examining the characteristics and learning style preferences of 27 students enrolled in an online LINC program in Ontario. The study also examined the perspectives of their teachers in relation to the learning styles of their students.

Overall the student group identified their preferred learning styles as kinesthetic and auditory, whereas the teacher group perceived their students’ preferred learning styles as visual. The author suggests that the discrepancy between the student and teacher perceptions may result from the lack of a shared understanding of learning styles and students’ low level of awareness of their own learning styles and preferences.

Based on the findings of the study the author concludes that enhanced training and professional development for online LINC teachers in relation to learning style preferences; strategies to work with students to support them to identify their preferred learning styles, and how they can refine their instructional strategies to address a range of learning styles would be a useful contribution to an improvement in outcomes for online LINC students.

Retrievable from:

https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/40194/3/Elsageyer_Nasren_2020_thesis.pdf