Dafne González Universidad Simón Bolívar - TISLID'10 -

Virtual Worlds and LT  3D Environments  Example: Second Life (SL) Avatars 3D Interactive objects Replicating places

Our Study - Context  Languagelab.com  British private company  Previously teaching English in SL  Sim especially designed for ELT  Spanish course  Spanish for travel  Level beginners  10 weeks

Our Study - Methodology  Case study: a macro-vision of all the process of an Action Research. Qualitative research  Guiding questions:  How can Spanish be taught in Second Life?  How can we design a course to be delivered in SL?  Which language approach to teaching is the most appropriate for SL?  How do the affordances of SL impact on all of the above?  Objectives of the research  To design a course of Spanish for beginners in SL  To implement the course  To analyze all the components of the course and its appropriateness in SL  To reflect on the interactive, social and language learning potential of SL  Researchers:

Our Study – Action Research (AR) Phases suggested by Kemmis & McTaggart (1988) -fundamentals for each of the cycles of AR:  Plan (designing the course),  Action (implementation or intervention),  Observation of the effects of the action,  Reflection, which is the base for future actions or cycles of the research.

Action Research - Planning  Collaborative work : teachers, coordinator, languagelab staff, invited participants  Teaching method: communicative paradigm:  Whole language approach  Task-based instruction  Functional-notional  Total Physical Response  Authentic activities – real-world tasks  SL resources – 2D & 3D interactive objects  Evaluation: continual – based on class performance & interviews

Action Research - Implementation  Class walk-trhough  10-week beta course  90-minute classes twice a week (new language / enabling tasks  8 invited participants  all teachers  Total and false beginners  Evaluation:  Weekly feedback surveys  teachers logs  Indicators of Engaged Learning  How Interactive are YOUR Distance Courses?

Action Research - Observation  Weekly meetings (teachers + coordinator)  Discuss classes using the data collected during implementation  Make changes to future classes based on data collected.  Online focus group sessions (T-C-P)  First group meeting - videoed for further analysis.  Other meetings- researchers took individual notes and then compared them).  Interviews with individual students.

Action Research - Reflection  Reflections on the observation cycle....  Provided invaluable information on the feasibility of the course  Highlighted changes that needed to be made for the final product:  The use of team teaching to facilitate the teaching of beginners.  A change of approach from aural approach to a 4-skill approach.  The inclusion of an SL skills session for the students prior to course start.  The creation of a virtual city especially designed for this course.  The use of web-based resources (wiki, podcasts, interactive online exercises).  A need for self-access materials to reinforce class sessions.

Slideshow: Class 1 – Introducing the program & teaching helpful vocabulary

Slideshow: Week 2 – Countries + Hotel vocabulary

Thanks for your attention! Dafne González