A Journey Through Online
Language Learning
Web Apps > Web 2.0
Things to consider
The term Web 2.0 was coined in 2004 to mark a change from 1990’s internet usage, which is now regarded as one-directional and static, a means of broadcasting information to the whole world, now called Web 1.0. Web 2.0 is different because it is about social communities and sharing information; well-known examples are blogs, twitter or wikipedia, all platforms which allow users to create, adjust and comment on on-line content, so it is no longer a one-way street.
Web 2.0 can be very powerful for language learning, as it allows students to interact with other students or speakers of the target language, as well as creating the opportunity for teachers to expand their classrooms into virtual components, by means of virtual learning environments (VLE), blogs, etc. As a result, students can take ownership and self-direct their learning by immersing themselves into a language and its cultural output however, wherever and whenever they want, making it not just powerful but also very empowering as a tool.
Read more here about what Web 2.0 can do for teaching and learning. Some examples of Web 2.0 tools and their possibilities: Videos and instructions on this and more can be found here.
Blogs
The word ‘blog’ is short for ‘web log’ and is basically a website or part of a website where one or more individuals posts text, media files and links. It is not a one-way street, though, as everybody can respond to blogs and blogs also often offer many links to other blogs, and interesting sites. Blogs are often specifically related to special interests, news or hobbies, and are a brilliant way of networking information. You can often subscribe to a blog via an RSS feed.
Look here for some interesting blogs created by language teachers:
Juan Fernandez for Spanish; Achmed El Shareif for Arabic (for students) and Arabic for teachers.
For a handy overview on blogs, click here.
RSS feeds
Instead of checking news updates and blogs manually, by going to each and every site, you can have those sites send their updates, called ‘feeds’, to your website or ‘reader’ (e.g. google reader). All you need to do is subscribe to them. This is a good way to liven up and contextualise your VLE with ever-changing content. In the following example, the moodle (type of VLE) of a face-to-face intermediate Dutch language course has feeds from a ‘word of the day website’ and the gossip pages of a quality newspaper (example). When students automatically view these headlines, they are likely to click on them and start browsing websites in the target language. This can be used in class (in a blended context) or on-line, as students select articles or topics for discussion in a group (either live, via Skype or a forum). As a result, other students are encouraged to look at these sites and read, watch and listen content in the target language in their leisure time.
This video explains what RSS does in plain English.
Podcasts
Podcasts are media files, such as radio programmes, that you can subscribe to (usually via RSS), so they are sent to your ‘reader’. The reader could be google reader as before, iTunes, a social networking site (e.g. Facebook) or your own website, blog or VLE. Audio files are in the .mp3 format, which makes them easily downloadable onto portable devices, such as mp3 players. You can also create your own podcasts (e.g. lectures, presentations, pronunciation exercises, thought of the day), post them on your site, and your students can subscribe to them in their readers and download them on their mobile devices, respond to them on forums,etc.
These handy fact sheets help you set up RSS feeds and create your own podcasts.
Wiki's
A wiki is a bit like a word document online, one that people can work on simultaneously and collaboratively. The most famous of its applications is of course the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which is made up of such files. If your syllabus type is topic-based, you could for example have your students work on a wikipedia article together in the target language. As a language teacher, you can make use of wiki’s on your VLE, so students can work together on all sorts of writing tasks. The ‘history’ of the wiki shows who’s done what and when, making it easy to trace. A wiki always needs a platform, i.e. a website.
Social Networking sites
There is some debate around whether social networking sites (e.g.Facebook can be used in language teaching, as there are possible privacy issues. However, students may enjoy setting up networks of learners of foreign languages and create a low-threshold community of learners and speakers, making them useful for self-directed learning, as too much teacher involvement may be counterproductive. Students and / or teachers may create directories of events that all members of the group are automatically alerted to, as well as create blogs and include RSS news or podcast feeds. Lagelands makes use of Facebook for teaching in the fully on-line version. Twitter is another example of a social networking site (read more here).
YouTube
YouTube can also be considered a social networking site, as people post videos that other people can comment on. As well as posting home videos to share, many broadcasters (or pirates) post fragments of television programmes, making it very useful to easily track down famous comedy sketches, historic speeches, iconic TV moments,etc. These can very easily be embedded or linked to from blogs, VLE’s or other websites and turned into starting points for discussion, writing exercises, or even students creating video responses. In Lagelands, the teacher posted some clips on YouTube for her students, to help them with basic language features such as the alphabet, you can see them here.
Second Life
Second Life is a virtual world where people, impersonated by their on-screen personae, the so-called avatars, can meet, talk, socialise, organise events in environments they can design themselves. An example is the Slanguages symposium, dedicated to exploring the possibilities for virtual language learning, which has been hosted in Second Life for several years running.
- Many of these applications can seem very appealing and ‘modern’, do make sure that you don’t get carried away by their glamour and always consider their pedagogic value and what they could add to your course.
- If, contrary to the above, you are rather scared of these applications, there’s no need, as most of them are fairly easy to use and you learn as you go along.
- Don’t try too many new gadgets in one go, take one at a time, familarise yourself with its features, think it through, and play around with it until you feel confident. Quite often, your students will be able to help too. Don’t be afraid to admit this is new to you. You can present the introduction of a new tool as an exciting experiment for everybody. You can even make it part of the course to evaluate and discuss its use in the target language.
- Are you a control freak? Then Web 2.0 may not be for you as using these features implies loosening the reins; you cannot control everything that is going on, you will inevitably give more ‘power’ to your students, the learning experience becomes more collaborative and student-led.
- Be aware that many Web 2.0 features may be new to some students too and they may be wary of using them. It may also be the case that there are privacy issues; some people may prefer working on password-protected sites if
their involvement is required.
- If you are going to make use of wikis and you want to make use of free wiki hosting sites, it is not a bad idea to keep a local copy, as websites do disappear.
- Do you have the technical know-how to deal confidently with these applications? If in doubt, most institutions offer courses and many tutorials can be found on-line (check Youtube)
Further Reading:
- Education 2.0? Designing the web for teaching and learning
- Training video's on many of the tools.
Handy work sheets on Web 2.0 applications (created by Sibylle Nalezinski) :
- Podcasts
- Youtube
- Twitter
- Blog
- Google docs
- Hot Potatoes
Disclaimer I Freedom of Information I Accessibility I Contact Us
University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT Tel: +44 (0) 20 7679 2000
© UCL 1999–2011