Professional Developement - Webinar

Speaker: Florencia G. Henshaw

Location: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Date: October 18. 2018

Title: Video chatting with native speakers: why, what, and how

Link to webinar: https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_kzfn096m/90905681

The general layout for this webinar was the speaker discussing first the “how” of video-chatting with native speakers, specifically focusing on the SAMR model. This model, standing for Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition, addresses how technology can be added and what changes occur when the addition of technology enters into the classroom. The “R” portion of the model was the primary focus of this webinar, and the question posed was “does technology allow for creation of a task previously inconceivable?” The three primary benefits addresses were the language development, global competence, and affective factors in students. Previous research was briefly covered.

The speaker then shifted to the “what/why” for video-chatting with native speakers and provided a variety of ideas on how to scaffold tasks for students so they have a clear direction for why speaking to a native-speaker is important and so they have a basis for conversation with the native-speaker. Florencia then gives a list of platforms where students can interface with native speakers as well as the pros and cons of each platform.

The final part of the webinar was time for Q and A between Florencia and people who were watching/listening in to the talk. This gave Florencia more time and opportunity to address the “why” aspect of the topic as well as which platforms work well with certain levels of Spanish speakers (ex: which platforms work well for higher-level speakers and that less direction than compared to lower-level speakers.)

This webinar was particularly interesting and pertinent to me because my students in SPAN 1022 use an online platform (linguameeting.com) and I personally have been a part of courses that use online platforms (talkabroad.com) to facilitate native-speaker conversations. Although having to pay for time with a native-speaker was not ideal for me nor is it ideal for my students, I know that the quality of conversation is higher, and students are more motivated to participate because there is a financial investment involved. Missing a meeting means wasting money. I also have found that the native-speakers on platforms that require payment tend to be trained and have had experiences with non-native speakers, so they have a higher level of English and can understand English-speakers more readily. This is crucial for my low-level Spanish students because they look up words frequently and default to English rather than describing what they don’t know (an ability I know will develop over time.)

In addition, I liked this webinar because the free platforms are sites that I can recommend to my students to maintain their Spanish during breaks in the school year, and even platforms I could use to maintain my Spanish during the summer months when I may not be using Spanish as often as I would like. One thing Florencia mentioned is that using platforms to dialogue with native speakers tend to motivate students to study abroad, continue learning the target language, and do their own investigations on culture. I am hopeful for my students that by using linguameeting.com, they continue to learn Spanish and don’t see it as a class to fulfill the CLA language requirement.

Professionally, this was a great webinar to help add more ideas and accessible websites to my toolkit so I can better teach my students beyond the classroom!

Reflection #6 - SPPT 5999

Beyond form-focused instruction: Reflections on past, present and future research

·      Summary –

o    This brief article sought to quickly answer seven questions regarding FFI in L2 classrooms that the author had posed previously, ultimately asking if the type of teaching/feedback/timing/etc. of FFI mattered and if using FFI mattered at all! In the end, the author drew conclusions in that FFI does matter, how it is given is important, and when it is given can impact the students. In addition, learners frequently focus on different parts of a lesson than the instructor intends. The end of the article concludes that more research is needed and some of the author’s questions are left not completely answered due to the need for more investigations.

·      Key Concepts –

o   FFI (form-focused instruction)

§  This is important because it is a different type of instruction, where the form of the language is emphasized rather than meaning, which research has supported more recently. It also will influence what approach the instructor brings to the classroom on a given day/with a given lesson and activities to help further the understanding of form.

o   Feedback

§  In this article, the type of feedback is extremely important if one wishes to see results in their students regarding the form of their language. This article says that “explicit FFI was more effective than implicit FFI in communicative and content-based classrooms” (pg. 227). This potentially could impact the trajectory and improvement of the students in the long run of their language careers.

·      Reaction –

o   I think based on what we have covered in this class so far, a lot of the conclusions drawn were not what I expected since we have been focusing on a lot of communicative and authentic approaches to the language while traditionally FFI makes me think of “drill and kill” or “fill in the blank” worksheets. However, also based on this class, I think there are ways that FFI can be accomplished without compromising the authenticity of texts that we want to incorporate into the classroom. I am not sure what exactly that would look like for my class, but it is something to consider: grammar and vocab can be learned “in the wild,” (through texts), not just textbooks or dictionaries.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   What kind of authentic texts lend themselves better to an FFI lesson?

o   What would a successful meaning-focused and form-focused lesson look like?

Instructed second language vocabulary learning

·      Summary –

o    The general flow of this article is discussing the challenges of vocabulary learning in L2, issues regarding how vocabulary is taught, ways to intentionally learn vocab, and incidental (non-explicit) means of learning vocabulary. It has been found that overall, learning vocabulary is challenging to L2 learners for a variety of reasons ranging from the size of vocabulary needed to communicate/understand to the incremental nature of vocabulary, as in, there is no end and learning more vocab leads only to having to learn more vocab and know how to use it appropriately. Research has shown that teaching vocabulary explicitly is more effective than implicitly or through context clues, but activities can be developed to teach vocab more explicitly through a general reading with many unknown words, without directly giving definitions. What is most important is to reiterate vocab, limit the vocab being learned (not to overwhelm the students and to choose what is most important,) and give the learning process time because it is gradual.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Meaning focused input/output

§  This type of learning is important because it shows students gaps in their own knowledge and can encourage them to look up words and use words that they know they need to communicate or read frequently.

o   Language-focused learning

§  This type of learning is focused mainly on explicit teaching/feedback which is a critical aspect in learning vocab. As other portions of the article point out, explicit instruction leads to a deeper understanding and therefore better use of vocabulary (so long as repeated exposure and usage is also emphasized.) In addition, knowing that students have a larger receptive vocabulary than productive vocabulary can help instructors help their students bridge that gap.

·      Reaction –

o   I think that this article was very intuitive, but compiled research on vocab learning into one concise article. I try to expose my students to a wide range of vocab, but this may actually not be helpful for them as they are trying to learn just the basics in vocabulary (and other things such as grammar, culture, etc.). Although I may be excited about teaching a fun word or something new, it may not benefit my students, nor will they retain it unless I give repeated exposure or emphasize it more often. Telling them a word once or twice is not enough. And although I know this, I have a hard time remembering this in class because I am excited to share new words or phrases with them.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   How can I improve my students’ abilities to understand context clues if they also struggle with understanding grammar or other key concepts in the phrase/passage?

o   How can I still encourage learning vocab when my department does not explicitly test on vocab on exams? (ex: fill in the blank with the appropriate word)

Reflection #5 - SPPT 5999

Developing Oral and Written Presentational Communication

·      Summary –

o    This chapter, as noted by the title, focuses on presentational communication through the forms of writings and oral presentations. Despite having two forms of communication, both have similar processes of creation/editing such as having rough drafts, getting input from peers or others, etc. Essentially, using a non-linear approach and devoting time to plan are characteristics of good presentational communicators. Previous research has mainly focused on L1 presentational communication or ESL, but some of these principles and findings have been expanded upon and transferred to L2 learning. It is ultimately stated that presentational communication skills can be learned and therefore taught in the classroom and should be accompanied by plenty of practice and time for reflection. In addition, examples of texts to be used and lessons that can teach this kind of communication are provided and shown for a variety of levels (elementary-advanced students). Finally, feedback/feedforward is addressed: how to give feedback/forward, types of helpful feedback/forward, and responding to feedback/forward.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Presentational mode (of communication)

§  This concept is important because it is a means in which students may be asked to demonstrate their knowledge in any academic or vocation context. It extends beyond the classroom, and many students eventually will have to engage in this type of communication for a job or social circles.

o   Task environment

§  This gives context where the speaker/writer presents his/her work. It requires that the presentation or writing be presented in such a way that the intended audience understands through grammar, vocabulary, formal vs. informal tone, culture, etc. It is important because the author/presenter may have to adapt to different audiences and contexts as well as gives a space for him/her to show his/her work.

o   Feedback

§  This is an integral step in the process to producing a work and presenting it. It allows communal input to improve the communication and gives the author/presenter other perspectives that may improve the piece of work he/she is working on.

·      Reaction –

o   My students only get one graded chance to show their oral presentational skills through media, so I am wondering to myself if there is a way to incorporate it more into class and utilize media more frequently. I have adapted many writing exercises so that students receive peer-review versus just my review of their work, however, I do not know how to incorporate in more oral presentations with feedback more frequently without taking too much time. This is something I will think about for next semester. I also appreciated reading this so I can improve my own writing and oral presentational skills for classes as well as when I present to my students. This chapter goes both ways very well. Finally, this chapter reminded me that I should be giving perhaps more time to my students when I ask them to spontaneously write and have mini writing assignments in class and gave me ways to encourage incorporating in other perspectives and how to self-reflect and self-correct before receiving feedback from peers. I need this reminder because, although I am not perfect in my Spanish, I am much more advanced than my students and writing (and speaking) comes easier, faster, and more confidently than my students.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   How can I incorporate in more media presentations into class-time more regularly?

o   How can I encourage students to self-reflect outside of class (especially as we have more writing assignments outside of class) before I give them a grade for their work?

Reflection #4 - SPPT 5999

Teaching Reading as Construction Meaning from Texts (Chp. 5)

·      Summary –

o    This chapter summarizes the findings of four different studies on teaching reading to lower level FL courses, and then extracts a pattern from them: pre-reading, initial reading, detailed reading, critical reading, and knowledge application (and then an assessment at the end). Each of these concepts are deconstructed and their importance is discussed. In each of these concepts, examples are also given, and all the studies previously discussed also include specific examples of how to carry out tasks associated with each concept in the classroom.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Available designs

§  This is an important aspect because it engages students immediately with their preexisting knowledge and shows them where gaps in their knowledge are. This is especially helpful for reading activities which could be completely new for students, but they still have an existing knowledge that will aid them (no one really starts from scratch essentially.)

o   Literacy

§  This is important because this is how students engage with texts! It is not just reading (although it is an important component) but engages culture and visual/audio cues as well. This is also an important building block for students to become more proficient in a FL.

·      Reaction –

o   I thought this was a really practical chapter with things I see that I already am doing in class and many others that I would like to implement. I also like how well organized the flow of reading activities were, that would give structure to days where my class reads in Spanish (and I consistently feel like my activities are discombobulated from their comprehension and what I want to elicit from them). I would like to incorporate in more authentic and difficult texts but am finding a lack of time in the classroom to do so.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   How can I encourage my students to be literate outside the classroom?

o   How can I incorporate in more difficult authentic texts into my curriculum despite it not being a part of the department’s curriculum?

Teaching Video-Mediated Listening as Constructing Meaning from Texts (Chp. 7)

·      Summary –

o    This chapter initially gives a brief overview of the importance of integrating video-text into the classroom, and then gives examples through four previous studies, each proposing their own (yet similar) broad lesson plan and steps to accomplish a successful interaction with a video-text. After going through the studies, the authors then propose their own 6-step lesson plan (based on the previous studies) and an explanation of each step with sample activities for each step.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Cultural information mapping

§  As culture and using authentic texts become more and more important in FL teaching, this type of activity will orient students to think outside of themselves and more appropriately interact with an authentic text.

o   Knowledge application

§  Although this is almost the last step in the proposed plan for having students interact with a video-text, this step is crucial because it puts knowledge into action and can reveal what students not only comprehended, but how the students interacted with the text overall. This step also extends the knowledge learned about culture from comprehension to “access to the target community” (pg. 222).

·      Reaction –

o   This was a practical chapter that I enjoyed! This information encourages me to create lesson plans around video-texts; however, video-texts are not integrated well in my department into the curriculum, so I am unsure how to put this new, enthusiastic knowledge into practice. In addition, the video-texts that are used are not authentic and made for the sole purpose to accompany the textbook. I have considered deviating slightly from the curriculum to incorporate in other texts and interacting with other texts (ex: having students fill in lyrics to an authentic Spanish song), however I am finding a lack of time to do so even though I know my students would enjoy it. The same extends to this idea, that I do not have time to show video-texts in addition to accomplishing what the curriculum has set out for me.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   Are there ways students can engage in meaningful and thoughtful ways with authentic video-texts outside the classroom without the aid of a teacher?

o   Is there a shortened/condensed plan I could adapt for my classroom due to the lack of time? What steps would I cut out if I could?

Reflection #3 - SPPT 5999

Understanding the Multiliteracies Framework

·      Summary –

o   The overarching theme of this chapter is the multiliteracies approach to learning, essentially a method of teaching that is socially and culturally conscious of the student’s perspectives and the variety of perspectives present in the world. It aims to bring these world perspectives to a smaller and more tangible environment for many: the classroom. It first introduces Meaning Design as a means of interpreting texts, whether that is audio, visual, or written texts, and then transforming these texts which will vary between each student because all bring their own perspective to the classroom. The article the discusses the “what” of Multiliteracies Approach through the type of texts one can use and different ways to analyze these texts.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Meaning design

§  This type of design incorporates in all aspects of learning and therefore can appeal to all kinds of students whether they are visual or oral or auditive communicators. It also emphasizes the integration of culture and our own cultural experiences, which are important to take into account as they may color the way we learn or how we learn best. Finally, it encourages people to problem-solve and collaborate, meaning that it is not an individual act (communicating that is,) but requires others.

o   Conventions

§  This concept does not only touch the linguistic norms of a culture/person but also the interpretation and creation of meanings/norms. Conventions will influence how one interacts with the world and are dictated by the culture in which he/she lives. This is important, specifically for me as a teacher, because my students come to class with a set of conventions, perhaps all different, that I try to expand upon and reveal other sets of conventions in the world through a foreign language.

·      Reaction –

o   I enjoyed this part of the chapter as it gave concrete words for things, I have already experienced in the classroom such as conventions or attempts I’ve (unknowingly) made to try these methods of teaching. By giving me more explicit definitions and examples of these methods, I can bring this knowledge to lesson planning and incorporate in new or more stretching activities for my students that would challenge them to express themselves. I also appreciated the discussion on how texts can come in a variety of forms, especially since everyone learns slightly differently and I cannot rely on just one means of teaching and hope all my students understand 100%.

·      Discussion Questions –

o    In what ways can I bring the Meaning Design to my classroom? As in, how can I allow students to come to their own conclusions or creations without taking too much time or having too many different creations in the classroom?

o   Are there other ways to develop my personal pedagogy without actually teaching?

Authentic Materials Myths

·      Summary –

o   This short chapter discusses what authentic texts are and their importance in a variety of contexts and teaching methods. Types of authentic texts and discussed, as well as the rich, cultural perspective that they bring to class. Many are motivated by authentic texts, one reason because they bring these new real, cultural perspectives to the classroom that did not exist prior. However, a warning is given to teachers about practical problems such as the time-consuming nature of finding authentic texts or the timeliness of these texts for example.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Authentic text

§  These are important because it communicates real messages to audiences, rather than being fabricated for the sake of a textbook. Authentic texts help with understanding texts that can be found in the real world, away from a FL classroom.

o   Task-input phase

§  It provides a context and situation in which students interact with authentic texts and practice using their skills in a more real-world situation while inside the confines of a classroom where the teacher/other classmates can help each other.

·      Reaction –

o   This definitely encouraged me to try and find or incorporate in more authentic texts into my classroom! All texts used on exams are authentic, so practicing with these types of texts during a normal week could aid students in understanding the language (even if for the sake of doing well on their exams) and possibly even motivate them to continue learning Spanish in the future!

·      Discussion Questions –

o   Where can I find authentic texts that are too difficult to understand for my students?

o   How should I present authentic texts that may present conflicting linguistic uses? (There are many Spanish-speaking countries, each with their own dialect and manner of speaking/writing which is what I am referring to.)

Reflection #2 - SPPT 5999

Providing Oral Corrective Feedback to Improve Learner Proficiency

·      Summary –

o   This chapter focuses on a variety of ways to giving corrective feedback to students, the differences between these ways, and how to present them to students. The chapter then goes over considerations to think about regarding context factors, learner factors, and CF strategies in order to give CF to students.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Uptake

§  This article focuses on corrective feedback and this concept is important for how students interpret and use the feedback given to them.

o   Scaffolding

§  This is what I practice in my classroom everyday: me, being a proficient Spanish learner, assisting and guiding the learning of less proficient learners. This is critical for less proficient learners to learn more and learn well.

·      Reaction –

o   This chapter seems quite intuitive after going over feedback in class last week. However, I did appreciate it going over the different types of CF and clearly defining them as well as the table showing where on the spectrum of implicitness/explicitness and prompts/reformulations the CFs fell.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   Has research shown that one or two types of CF are more effective?

o   How should I correct a student, if at all, if his/her error is beyond his/her ZPD?

Oral Corrective Feedback in Second Language Classrooms

·      Summary –

o   The article first presents previous research on CF, the types of CF, and issues with CF. However, effectiveness is also covered, which highlights the differences between teacher-student relationship and student-student relationships and how CF fits into these both. Overall, what is shown is that a variety of CF should be used, it is better to use CF than no CF, and students have a stronger preference for CF than teachers do.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Target

§  This is what we want students to aim for and achieve. It also will help improve a student’s language abilities if (linguistic) targets are met. It also gives a reference point for students and teachers to aim for.

o   Recasting

§  Repeating what the student said, but with the correct grammar/vocab/etc. was shown to have a positive effect on students, specifically when it focused on just one (or very few) consistent error.

·      Reaction –

o   I thought this study was interesting, helping answer a previous question of mine (effectiveness of different types for CFs). It also encourages me as a professor to include more CF when talking with students because studies have shown that students want more CF! Finally, I enjoyed that a variety of linguistic targets were looked at for CF and it reminds me that CF doesn’t just have to be for grammar but can encompass more aspects of a language.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   What are practical ways I can practice CF in my classroom that encompasses more linguistic targets?

o   Is there a type of CF that lends itself to more contexts than others? How does the context of CF affect how it is received?

Developing Oral and Written Interpersonal Communication

·      Summary –

o   This chapter goes over the ACTFL guidelines for proficiency, which flows into discussing different classroom activities (hopefully all improving the proficiency of the students.) Each activity is given a definition, a model, and explanation as to why this type of activity is important or could be used practically. The activities range from group work to pair work to role playing to journaling (and many more) in order to give students a good basis for demonstrating their abilities in a variety of ways

·      Key Concepts –

o   Proficiency

§  This is what students aim for and can be difficult to achieve varying levels of this. Essentially this is the final end goal that all second-language learners: to be considered a skilled speaker/writer/communicator in a language in many different contexts.

o   Repair

§  This is important to ensure that communication continues to flow between the speaker/writer and the listener/audience. It also encourages the student (speaker/writer) to improve their language and use different language to explain the intended meaning which in turn improves his/her proficiency.

·      Reaction –

o   This chapter was awesome and helped me brainstorm more and new ideas for my classroom! I feel as though I repeat activities frequently and I want to introduce new activities but am only so creative where I run out of ideas quickly. I will be saving this chapter for future reference and will most likely look back at it a lot as I continue to design lessons for this semester and future courses.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   Is it beneficial to have activities that are normal for students to do? In other words, is having too much variety in activities done in class detrimental to students improving?

o   Is there a way to provide cultural contexts for students of lower levels of a language without being too abstract? (Apart from “pretend you are a foreign exchange student in ….”)