Eurocall ConferenceColeraine, 5-8 September 2007

ICT as a tool to support learner autonomy

more opportunities for oral skills training outside classroom hours

Alessandra Corda, Annemiek Wegman

Faculty of ArtsLeiden University

Contents of this presentation

• General background• The INTUIT project• Pilots at Leiden University• The European Language Portfolio• Technical issues• Evaluation• Conclusions• Further experiments

General background

• English: language of instruction in almost all MA courses in the Netherlands

• Great demand for academic English courses (both students and staff)need for differentiation (foreign students) focus on speaking and writing

• Required level for MA: C1

• Average reading skills level at the end of secondary school: B2

Average reading skills level

Distribution of scores and cut-off scores vwo examination 2004 (upper secondary school, pre-university) in English

Average listening skills level

Distribution of scores and cut-off scores vwo examination 2005 (upper secondary school, pre-university) in English

Dialang test results

Leiden University Language Centre

Vocabulary Languagestructures

Listening Reading Writing

N = 219 N=219 N=218 N=213 N=215

A1 0 0 0 0 0

A2 1 2 3 1 10

B1 3 9 9 18 35

B2 111 108 52 66 100

C1 81 78 83 102 63

C2 23 22 71 26 7

The INTUIT project (I)

• 1-1-2006 – 01-04-2008

• 6 university language centres

• Development of an ICT enriched learning environment to support English for academic purposes

• No distance learning

• 2006: 12 pilot projects, 2007-2008: large scale implementation

The INTUIT project (II)

• Pedagogical aims: implementation Common European Framework and autonomous language learning

• Pilots:

Diagnostic testing (Dialang and Set 10)Language practice (Ellips and Academic Word

List)Guidance (web based version of the European

Language Portfolio, ELP: www.europeestaalportfolio.nl)

• Blackboard courses

English courses at the

University Language Centre

• Short-term courses (13 weeks, 3 hours per week)

• Target group: both Dutch and foreign students

• Dialang test as placement test, ELP

• Focus on productive skills (speaking and writing)

• Two pilots, March-June 2006 and September-December 2006

Pilots’ description

• Aims: Make students more aware of their English

speaking skills level Provide them with knowledge and instruments to

autonomously improve their English speaking skills

• Structure: Students assess their oral competence skills

(ELP) Students record and upload monologues Teacher provides written feedback

Self assessment through the ELP

• Dutch online version of the European Language Portfolio (validated in 2007)

• Demonstration (English version)

Student language portfolio Teacher language portfolio

How did students record the monologues?

• Sanako digital recorder in the language lab

• Odeo (freeware, web based), Audacity (downloadable)

• Mp3 players with recording function

Pilots with students and with staff:technical issues

• Problems in uploading audio files in the ELP, the programme was less user friendly than expected

• Different approach to technology; generation gap

• Reluctancy

Results of the students’ evaluation (I)

• 14 respondents

• Students are positive about the monologues and the feedback.

• Greater awareness of their strong/weak points, better knowledge about how to improve their English

• Students who did not use Dialang are negative about self-assessment through the ELP

• Students who used Dialang are more positive about the self-assessment through the ELP

Results of the students’ evaluation (II)

• Students found the ELP not so user friendly

• Students prefer online coaching in combination with regular lessons

Conclusions

• Most innovative aspect

speaking skills training is no longer restricted to classroom hours

• Positive points

Speaking skills training is longer and more intensive

Students repeat until they are satisfied and send their best recording

No relevant increase of teacher’s work

What next?

• New pilot with Blackboard, Dialang, SET 10 (oral skills telephone test) and ELP

• ELP only for self assessment, not for file exchanging and feedback (through Blackboard)

• A look into the new course

Questions?

Alessandra Corda a.corda@let.leidenuniv.nl

Annemiek Wegman a.wegman@let.leidenuniv.nl

Text of presentation

http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/pdf/icto/eurocall2007_oralskillstraining.ppt

References

• Noijons, J. & Kuijper, H. (2006), Mapping the Dutch Foreign Language State Examinations onto the Common European Framework of Reference, CITO report http://toetswijzer.kennisnet.nl/html/cef/cito2006cefr.pdf