Hannah Southwood
In Chapter 12 of “What is Sociolinguistics?” Gerard Van Herk (2018) states that schools are a place where language ideologies collide with standard ideologies and speakers of marginalized languages are suppressed by the majority language (p. 212).
The COVID-19 pandemic forced educators and students to adapt to an online learning reality. Although we are more technologically ‘savvy’ with our smartphones, laptops, tablets and so on, it doesn’t mean teaching online is automatically easy.
Bailey and Lee (2020), studied the challenges and benefits of online instruction for both teachers and students. Although teachers who previously taught online had less challenges, the one common challenge among language teachers was the ability to find “live communication” time (p. 179). Bailey and Lee (2020) stated this challenge as one of the reasons language learning has previously been taught offline. One challenge might be that inexperienced teachers are unfamiliar with online teaching and learning platforms and cannot harness their benefits. That’s not to say experienced online teachers had less trouble.
Teachers and students around the world are aware of or or learn using the videoconferencing platform Zoom. Zoom facilitates interactions by allowing hosts and co-hosts to share their screen, participants use their microphones and cameras, and a chat box to engage without interrupting.
There are non-verbal feedback icons to raise your hand, answer yes or no, ask the speaker to go slower or faster, and emojis such as thumbs up. Both the participant and host have access to these features; however, host features are a bit different because they respond to the non-verbal participants use.
These features can create a more interactive experience for participants and teachers. There are lots of other benefits such as student led classes, using other platforms such as Kahoot! or Mentimeter, engaging in real time. Other platform and online challenges Bailey and Lee (2020) found were: students getting distracted and technical issues.
What does this mean for language learning ?
Challenges
Bailey and Lee (2020) state two main potential challenges for language learning are are “authentic communication opportunities” and restricted “participation and classroom engagement” (p. 181). Participation and engagement may be restricted due to course design and lesson planning. Additionally, according to Gillet-Swan (2017), staff are required to learn and achieve higher levels of “technological competency and proficiency” in addition to their pre-existing workload.
Top 5 Benefits
- Activities can be tailored to student needs (Pourhossein Gilakjani, 2014).
- Online teachers are not the only information source, engaging in student led activities, teachers become participants (Riasati, Allahyar, & Tan, 2012).
- Improved critical thinking (Hamann et al., 2012).
- Students tend to be more open and show more reflection (Ellis et al., 2004).
- In small group sizes, students are more engaged, increased discussions and they produce better learning outcomes (Hamann et al., 2012).
Looking toward the future and returning to Van Herk’s (2018) statement, a potential benefit of online language learning may be that marginalized language speakers find they have more power and louder voice using these platforms.
Questions:
What are some benefits and challenges you have experienced with online learning?
Have you found any benefits learning language/s online?
References
Bailey, D. R., & Lee, A. R. (2020). Learning from experience in the midst of covid-19: benefits, challenges, and strategies in online teaching. Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal, 21(2), 178-198.
Gillett-Swan, J. (2017). The challenges of online learning: Supporting and engaging the isolated learner. Journal of Learning Design, 10(1), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.5204/ jld.v9i3.293
Hamann, K., Pollock, P. H., & Wilson, B. M.. (2012). Assessing Student Perceptions of the Benefits of Discussions in Small-Group, Large-Class, and Online Learning Contexts. College Teaching, 60(2), 65–75. http://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2011.633407
Kohnke, L., & Moorhouse, B. L.. (2020). Facilitating Synchronous Online Language Learning through Zoom. RELC Journal, 003368822093723. http://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220937235
Nonverbal feedback during meetings. (n.d.). Zoom Help Center. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115001286183-Nonverbal-feedback-during-meetings
Pourhossein Gilakjani, A. (2014). A detailed analysis over some important issues towards using computer technology into the EFL classrooms. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(2), 146-153. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2014.020206
Riasati, M. J., Allahyar, N., & Tan, K. E. (2012). Technology in language education: Benefits and barriers. Journal of Education and Practice, 3(5), 25-30. https://www.iiste.org/ Journals/index.php/JEP/article/view/1495/1427
Hi Hannah! I really enjoyed your post and your critical analysis of online learning during the pandemic, primarily via Zoom. I like how you highlighted the many ways that this teaching method can be beneficial for students, primarily pointing out that students are invited to seek information from multiple sources and that they can engage better in small group sizes. I think, as you briefly mentioned, one of the biggest struggles can be with regards to attention span, as well as perhaps motivation, as starting at a screen all day long to accomplish various tasks, as well as language classes, can constitute an onslaught of screen time that may otherwise cause a hindrance for the student. I think it’s good for potential language students be informed about the pros and cons of learning languages remotely in order to make an educated decision as to whether this is right for them.
– Daniele Iannarone
Hi Daniele, thank you for leaving your feedback and thoughts on language learning online. I completely agree that staring at a screen for such a long period of time can become problematic and students can become disengaged. I think something that would help is having breakout time to just socialize for several minutes and give regular short breaks during class. Many of our online classes are about 2 hours in the fall 2020 term and I believe if students were to get more regular breaks around the 30 min mark (bathroom, stretch legs, get a drink, etc.) this would help them focus more intentionally during the class.
Hannah S.
Hi Hannah,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about online language learning. I am interested in this topic and quite enjoy reading your blog! On one hand, online learning provides more opportunities for students to discuss and share their thoughts because online teachers play a key role as facilitators. On the other hand, as you mentioned, it doesn’t mean teaching online is automatically easy. Based on my learning and teaching experience, it is harder to create a good and comfortable affective climate than before, because we can only communicate with each other through the screen. In this case, I think some ice-breaker activities can be used to build a connection between teacher and student, as well as student and student.
From my perspective, the pandemic will definitely change the way of teaching and learning now and in the future. We have no choice of the epidemic but we can adjust ourselves and adapt to online teaching and learning. Additionally, we can try to find a better way to engage in the class and use the online platform to improve ourselves.
Bingtong
Hi Hannah!
I really liked that you both pointed out the challenges and the benefits of online learning. As victims of this epidemic, teachers and students are gradually adapting to online classes. As a student myself, I think online learning saves a lot of time and energy because we don’t have to spend time travelling to school. In addition, students having online classes may have more chance to form new relationships with their classmates since they do not know who they will be with in the breakout rooms.
Also me as a language teacher, I find it hard to have insightful and deep conversation with my students online due to the distance. Moreover, I think students can be evaluated more thoroughly when we teach in person because we consider their behavior and etiquette as one of the most important thing to learn too. So I guess I am not a big fan of online classes when I’m a teacher!
By Sabrina Chang 🙂