Teaching and Learning Languages in Second Life - WiziQ Presentation

Exploring Second Life®for Language Learning and Teaching © EDURIZON.COM

Outline of Presentation‣ My interest in Second Life‣ Learning to use SL‣ SLexperiments Wiki and group‣ Finding a place and students to teach‣ The course‣ The SLexperiments blog‣ Student feedback‣ Conclusion‣ How to contact me‣ Q&A © EDURIZON.COM

My interest in Second Life ‣ I‘m a visual learner ‣ Learning at school was not very motivating for me ‣ I like technology and the Internet ‣ I had heard that SL is immersive and immersive learning is very effective ‣ Learning by doing and with as many senses as possible involved is more memorable ‣ SL‘s game-like nature ‣ Many opportunities for students to practise English ‣ Looking for motivating ways to teach online © EDURIZON.COM

Learning to use SL © EDURIZON.COM

SLexperiments Wiki and Group‣ Share knowledge ‣ Support each other‣ Learn together ‣ Meet in-world‣ Share resources ‣ Discuss and socialise © EDURIZON.COM

Finding a place and students to teach © EDURIZON.COM

The course‣ Pre-intermediate ‣ Nationalities: Turkish,‣ General English Qatari, Egyptian, Saudi‣ Mixed ability Arabian, Indian, French‣ SL + Moodle ‣ 6 weeks, 12x90min‣ 6 - 10 students © EDURIZON.COM

The course – Preparation‣ Deciding what to teach ‣ Coursebooks (topics, systems, skills) ‣ Past courses at this level ‣ Mix of activities, topics, systems, skills ‣ During the course‣ Deciding how to teach ‣ How to adapt activities, materials and games to SL ‣ What is possible in SL which is not possible in RL? ‣ Which tools do I need/have?‣ Writing the lessons plans‣ Preparing the lessons in-world ‣ Inventory: tools, notecards, slides ‣ Selecting locations (landmarks) ‣ Setting the scene © EDURIZON.COM

The course – Lessons © EDURIZON.COM

The course – Problems?‣ What happened? ‣ Students didn‘t want/couldn‘t use voice ‣ Preparation and activities take more time than in RL ‣ Real Life sometimes interfered ‣ Lag, crashes ‣ Kept loosing my skirts :) ‣ no major issues (we were very lucky) ‣ Exhausting for teacher: teaching, IMs, taking notes, Real Life‣ What could happen? ‣ Time zone differences ‣ Technical issues (no Internet connection, SL down, etc) ‣ Griefers (the locations were accessible for everybody) ‣ Offensive clothing or behaviour (nudity, etc). ‣ Addiction (SL can be addictive and I feel responsible for students I bring into SL. On the other hand, I provide a good alternative with my lessons to spend time in-world) © EDURIZON.COM

The SLexperiments blog‣ Reﬂecting + processing ‣ Sharing with colleagues‣ Professional development ‣ Making a case for‣ Hoping for feedback teaching in virtual worlds © EDURIZON.COM

Student feedback ‣ Do you think your English has improved?Yes, I think my English has improved a lot. First of all, I have learned a lot ofnew things (words - grammar - ..) in the class. I usually practice speaking Yes, My Grammar was not that good and itsEnglish with other family members, and in the university, and I see that my better now. For example I used to put past tensconfidence in speaking has improved, and my speaking has became better. We after did like: Where did you came from? andhave a project where we communicate with different organizations, and learned that is wrong.sometimes we have to talk English with foreign people. I found myself in theprevious weeks talking easily and more confidently to them. I helped a friend inwriting her essays, and those essays got good marks, which means my writinghas improved. Yes but unfortunately, I joined the group too late. Yes, because now I know new vocabulary and I can say it Correctly. Cube I was say it "cb" it "cuwb" This courses very useful, educational and amusing. I learned a lot of words. for example I learned sl bulding prims and geometrical shape, i learned to reuters job © EDURIZON.COM

Student feedback ‣ Which activities were most effective for your learning? Why?Taking the other students in a tour to a place, and the games we playedtogether: its so fun, and makes students interact with each other. Preparing and When take Character like Journalist or touristsgiving presentation: its something that you do by yourself, so you learn more by guide etc. Using Second Life objects like cube,preparing for the presentation. sphere and other objects because that makeListening to the teacher, and learning about the different accents and mean of words so easy the pictures is the easypronunciations: This has improved my speaking, as I learned the correct way describe any thing.pronunciation of some words, and now my ear is more sensitive for differentaccents.Meeting and having guests in the class: I liked listening to Dennis, and Breathe.I liked the idea of writing a letter to Dennis. I learned a lot from listening to them. For me all were effective,Doing the homeworks: These were the most fun homeworks Ive ever did. I liked because I learned from each one.using the voice thread (although I didnt use voice ^-^;), and I liked writing in theblog and the forums.Doing the feedbacks: I dont know how to explain it, but I think it is very usefulway to use your English to express how you felt about the class (Answering thequestions). Interaction and the subject present of the studentHaving the teacher feedbacks on me: It gave me confidence, and helped meimprove more. Speaking, writing and especially listening © EDURIZON.COM

Student feedback ‣ What did/didnt you like about your teacher and the way she taught? I liked her way in teaching. It was fun and the funWhat I liked: Greeting us, asking how are we doing and chatting with us at the part is very important in learning for me.beginning of each class. Making all students participate. New topics and newteaching ideas every lecture. Different homeworks ideas. Feedbacks on theteacher and the students. What I didnt like: hmmmmmmm I really cant findanything. Ms Nergis successful and determined a teacher. I grateful herself nothing Using useful sites and games like: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ http:// voicethread.com/ http://www.ur.se/sprk/engelska/inredning/ Make lessons iteams in sound files like shapes sound file. Give example for home work. the thing wich i didt like it the teacher make us stad up big times and that make us tired. © EDURIZON.COM

Student feedback‣ If you had to pay for the course, would you want … a) traditional lessons 0.00 % b) interactive lessons with ﬁeld trips, interviews, 60.00 % student presentations, storytelling, etc. b) a mix of both 40.00 % © EDURIZON.COM

Student feedback‣ Which lessons are better? a) Second Life 60.00 % b) Real Life 0.00 % b) Both are the same 40.00 % © EDURIZON.COM

Student feedback‣ Would you participate in another SL English course? a) Yes 80.00 % b) No 0.00 % b) I don‘t know 20.00 % © EDURIZON.COM

Conclusion ‣ It is immersive (for me; there are different opinions) ‣ Motivating and engaging ‣ Effective (learning takes place) ‣ Possible to establish good rapport and a group feeling ‣ Makes things possible with are not possible in Real Life classes ‣ Collaborative, constructive ‣ Students with no experience in SL can participate with some help ‣ Ideal for distance education (feeling of belonging, presence) ‣ Role-plays, projects, interviews, CBT ‣ A tool I will certainly continue using © EDURIZON.COM

Thank you!‣ Nergiz Kern ‣ English teacher ‣ Teacher trainer ‣ MA EdTech & TESOL ‣ nergiz@gmail.com‣ Daffodil Fargis © EDURIZON.COM

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Teaching and Learning Languages in Second Life - WiziQ Presentation

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