Post on 28-Mar-2018
Impact of mobile and other new technologies
on Chinese language teaching and learning
KAN Qian 阚茜
Department of Languages, The Open University
Janet Williams 张玉云
Kings’ School, Winchester and Department of
Languages, The Open University
SSAT Chinese Conference,
18-19 May 2012
Content • Major forces of change in the world of education
Brain storm – formal, non-formal and informal learning
• Mobile learning and mobility of learners
Brain storm – characteristics of new learning
• How Open University’s Beginners’ Chinese course
meets such challenges
• Results of a survey at Kings’ School
• Impact on teaching
Discussion: suitable languages activities
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
1. Major forces of change
• Puts learners at the centre
• Leverages technologies and human capital in new ways
• Supports anytime, anywhere learning
• Includes a diverse range of institutions and
organizations, not just schools.
• This world of learning will make it possible for all
learners to develop deep knowledge and abilities in
order to thrive throughout their lifetimes.
(The World of Learning: http://futureofed.org/)
Brain storm: differences
between formal and informal
learning
• Physical setting
• Motivation
• Assessment
• Social context
• Interest Maars-Chalk, 1988, in Tamir 1990
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Formal learning
• Usually at school
• May be repressive
• Structured
• Usually prearranged
• Motivation is typically more
extrinsic
• Compulsory
• Teacher-led
• Learning is evaluated
• Sequential
Informal learning
• Everywhere
• Supportive
• Unstructured
• Spontaneous
• Motivation is mainly intrinsic
• Voluntary
• Usually learner-led
• Learning is not evaluated
• Non-sequential
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012 Eshach, 2007: 174
2. Mobile learning: mobile
technology, mobility of learners
and content
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Definition • To do with mobile technology ‘learning with mobile
devices’, exploring how mobility and device portability
leads us to re-think some aspects of teaching and
learning (Learning and Teaching Guide, OU, 2009)
• Learner mobility (spatial movement and time-shifting
and boundary-crossing, Traxler, 2009)
• Mobility of learning content (Kukulska-Hulme, 2009)
• Key words: personal, spontaneous, opportunistic,
informal, pervasive, situated, private and context-aware
(Zeng & Luyegu, 2012)
Mobility of learners and content
• Learning in various locations, e.g. at home, at work,
outdoors, in cafes, in libraries, in the car, on public
transport
• On the move, e.g. regular commuting, walking, running,
waiting, travel
• Location related interest, i.e. motivations for learning
that may arise from interest aroused by a location
• Ready access to learning materials, resources and
other learners, as and when needed.
New learning New technology Personal
Learner-centred
Situated (location)
Collaborative
Learner-generated
Ubiquitous
Personal
User-centred
Mobile
Networked
Networked
Ubiquitous
Sharples, M. et al (2007) SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Brain storm: characteristics of new
learning
3. How Open University’s Beginners’
Chinese course meets such
challenges
• Blended learning and virtual learning environment
• Learning materials in different formats and in small bites
• Chinese Characters First Steps App – engaging and
make use of the dead time
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
L197 Students’ profile – Age
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Under 25 25 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60 - 64 Over 65
Under 25
25 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 64
Over 65
Figure 1 Age Profile of L197 Students
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
L197 Students’ profile – Educational
qualifications
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
No F
orm
al Q
ualifica
tions
Less
Tha
n 2 A
-Lev
els
2+ A
-Lev
els o
r Equ
ivale
nt
HE Q
ualificat
ion
Pos
tgra
duate
Qual
ifica
tion
Not K
nown
No Formal Qualifications
Less Than 2 A-Levels
2+ A-Levels or Equivalent
HE Qualification
Postgraduate Qualification
Not Known
Figure 2 Educational qualifications Profile of L197
Students SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
L197 Students’ profile – Gender
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Male Female
Male
Female
Figure 3 Gender Profile of L197 Students – 45% male;
55% female
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Motivation - the most important reason for studying Chinese
Figure 4 Most Important Reason for Studying Chinese
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
For pleasure or
interest
To assist me in
my present or
future work
Communicate
with Chinese-
speaking
friends/family
Communicate
when visiting a
Chinese-
speaking
country
As an
intellectual
challenge
As part of a
wider
programme (for
instance, to
obtain a
degree)
Chinese Characters First
Steps App • High level of interactivity - audio, visual, writing, pinyin,
English in one interactive medium (CD player, textbook,
notebook, dictionary in one)
• User can set the level of difficulty
• Entertaining with game-like features
Features of OU App - 20 lessons and each
lesson with 4 sections: writing, listening test,
reading test and word search
eLC Event 25 April 2012
Digital generation – Routes into
Languages Day (2 May Cambridge)
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Tone practice - NewPepper (AI Speech)
customised to OU course materials
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
4. Survey at King’s School
• 51 students surveyed (17 female and 34 male)
• 6 languages in total
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
French 16
Spanish 19
Italian 13
German 16
Latin 2
Chinese 10
Which of the following devices have you got?
(Please select all that apply)
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
MP3 Player iPod iPod Touch Mobile Phone Blackberry Smartphone Other
Series2
Series1
Have you got an account with any of the
following? (Please select all that apply)
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Email Facebook Skype Twitter iTunes YouTube Other
Series2
Series1
Have you used any of the
following for language
learning?
Which of the following do you
use most frequently for
language learning?
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Series2
Series10
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Series2
Series1
When do you normally use these tools for language
learning? (Please select all that apply)
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
On the way toSchool
in between classes Waiting forpeople/transport
Whilst doing anothertask
Going out for a walk When I do myhomework
When I have thetime
Series2
Series1
How long do you usually spend for language
learning using each of the above tools?
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Homework via email – an
experiment
Students’ perspective
• Enthusiastic and keen
• Cool
• Write longer sentences
• Get parents involved (to install
Chinese fonts, use parents’
email address, etc)
Teachers’ perspective
• easier to communicate the
results to their tutor and Head
of Year (the Head of Year get
more involved)
• Easy to mark
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Email exchange example Student to student (cc to
teacher)
From: Student A
Sent: 11 March 2012 19:01
To: Janet Williams
Subject: RE: mandarin e-mails
您好![name of Student B].
你怎么样?
你多大了?
我喜欢吃面包和米饭。
你吃什么?
[name of Student A]
Teacher to students
From: xxx@kings-
winchester.hants.sch.uk
To: Student A; student B
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2012 18:29:09
+0000
Subject: RE: mandarin e-mails
… Well done girls!
You'll get a credit for this next
Wed.
谢谢!很好!
张老师 (Zhang laoshi)
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
5. What does the survey tell us
and what are the impact on
teaching?
• Understanding learners’ preferences, needs and
motivations
• Personalised, situated and authentic learning
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Language activities Language activities can be designed by exploiting the new
technologies
• to make use of the dead time – in small bites (using
Apps and audio tracks)
• to create opportunities for collaborative work (by emails,
using Google and online materials)
• to conduct what is perceived as authentic
communication (Skype and texting)
• to create online activities using school intranet to be
more engaging
Brain storm: what types of
language activities are suitable?
iTunes and other mp3 for
listening comprehension
Use YouTube for tones
and pronunciation
Speaking practice
using Skype chat Create online iCMA or upload
sound files to internal network Writing emails, sms
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Apps to revise and to
learn characters
Using various cool looking
formats such as Word Cloud
or templates for homework
Using Flashcard maker
and online dictionaries
Texting – improves writing and
spelling Despite doom-laden prophecies, texting has not been the
disaster for language many feared, argues linguistics
professor David Crystal. On the contrary, it improves
children's writing and spelling.
David Crystal, (2009) Txtng: The Gr8 Db8, OUP
Smart phones allow you to have the Chinese handwriting
and pinyin keyboard and improves character recognision.
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Food for thought
• …time and place are becoming more prominent in
shaping the landscape of language learning as learning
intertwines with other daily life activity and work…
Kukulska-Hulme (2012)
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
References • Eshach, H. (2007). Bridging In-school and Out-of-school Learning: Formal, Non-Formal,
and Informal Education. Journal of Science Education and Technology, Vol. 16, No. 2,
April 2007, 171 – 190.
• Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (2009). Will mobile learning change language learning?
ReCALL, 21(2), pp. 157–165.
• Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes (2012). Language learning defined by time and place: A
framework for next generation designs. In: D´ıaz-Vera, Javier E. ed. Left to My Own
Devices: Learner Autonomy and Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Innovation and
Leadership in English Language Teaching, 6. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing
Limited , pp. 1–13.
• Sharples, M., Taylor, J., Vavoula, G. (2007). A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age. In
K. Littleton P. Light (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of E-learning Research (pp. 221-247).
London: Sage.
• Sharples, M., et al. (2007) ‘Mobile Learning: Small devices, Big issues’ (in Sharples, M.,
et al. (eds.) Technology-Enhanced Learning, 2009, Part IV).
• Tamir, P. (1990). Factors associated with the relationship between formal, informal, and
nonformal science learning. Journal of Environmental Education 2(2): 34–42.
• Zeng, R and Luyegu, E. (2012) Mobile Learning in Higher Education. In A. Olofsson, &
J. Lindberg (Eds.), Informed Design of Educational Technologies in Higher Education:
Enhanced Learning and Teaching. IGI Global, 2012. 292-306. Web. 15 May. 2012.
doi:10.4018/978-1-61350-080-4.ch015
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
SSAT Chinese Conference, 18-19 May 2012
Useful links • The World of Learning: http://futureofed.org/
• Flashcard maker: http://quizlet.com/
• NewPepper: www.speachi.com
• Word Cloud: http://www.tagxedo.com/