Personalised and flexible language learning. Optimising adaptive and mobile learning in Italian language beginner classes
Marinella Caruso
Federica Verdina
Francesco De Toni…
30 pages
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Abstract
There are a number of changes and challenges affecting language education at a tertiary level. Blended and personalised learning are two of the main challenges. Data-driven technologies and mobile learning offer new tools to address them. While new digital tools have been recently developed, there is a lack of research on their effective implementation in university courses. In this paper we present the results of a study conducted in Italian beginner units at The University of Western Australia in 2017. These units were redesigned to integrate the mobile and adaptive learning resources available through McGraw-Hill Connect, with the aim of providing students with automated, personalised exercises for language reinforcement; offering students a more regular and flexible way for autonomous practice; improving the quality of contact hours. Besides evaluating the implementation of these resources in the units via a survey, we regularly monitored students' learning behaviours and engagement by analysing data collected from Connect. The results of our study show that adaptive and mobile technologies have a very positive impact on students’ learning, but they also raise questions on our capability to embrace the digital challenges that our universities encourage us to take.
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The purpose and promise of adaptive technologies is to facilitate online instruction that is personalized to the needs of individual learners. This paper will focus on what adaptive technologies do, or attempt to do, rather than on what they are in technical terms (e.g. the different kinds of algorithms1 that constitute the technologies), but the key words in the brief functional definition above (i.e. ‘adaptive’ and ‘personalized’) are highly contested. Part of the Cambridge Papers in ELT Series January 2017
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The purposes of this study were to investigate whether and how the social networking site Edmodo can help Japanese university students improve their multi-literacy skills in English, namely informal English used in social situations, and their engagement towards learning English; and to examine whether it could facilitate student interaction and promote autonomy in learning English. The respondents were Japanese university students who interacted and exchanged information with a class of Chilean university learners using Edmodo. A reactive form of autonomous learning was initially promoted (Littlewood, 1999), with evidence suggesting that the participants acted in a manner that allowed them to act independently and to take charge of their own learning through social networking site interactions. In addition, this study explored and collected data on three theoretical aspects of learner engagement in education based on Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris’ (2004) framework as it pertains to language learning in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context: students’ emotional, behavioral and cognitive engagement. The results of the study indicate that Edmodo encouraged reactive and proactive types of autonomous learning in a social networking setting among the Japanese students; moreover, it facilitated their improvement in reading, writing, and listening habits and skills.
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Mobile technologies exist in a wide spectrum and have a great impact on today’s world. One of the reasons of mobile technologies’ becoming a vital part of everyday life may be various features they possess such as easy access to content with no time and limit boundaries. This has brought up the question whether they may assist language learning. Considering Web 2.0 tools in the context of mobile technologies, for this study a well-known Web 2.0 tool has been chosen to investigate its effects, Duolingo, on students’ academic performance when used in blended learning settings to support formal language education. The academic performance levels of students are determined before and after the intervention in a high school in accordance with an instructional design prepared to support students in and out of school hours. Data were analyzed by using descriptive analyses techniques. The results of the study are discussed considering the significant difference in students’ academic perfo...
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in J. Fornasiero et al. (eds), "Intersections in language policy and planning: establishing connections in languages and cultures", Springer, 2020
Adaptive and mobile learning technologies are leading innovation in personalized and blended learning for language education at tertiary level. However, the growth of adaptive and mobile resources is not matched by sufficient research on their effective implementation in university language courses. In this chapter, we present a study conducted in Italian beginners units at the University of Western Australia in 2017 (credit-bearing undergraduate courses). These units were redesigned to integrate adaptive and mobile learning resources for automated and personalized language practice. We describe and discuss qualitative and quantitative data on students' engagement with the adaptive platform, their evaluation of skill practice on the platform, and the use of mobile devices to access the platform. Our results show that adaptive and mobile technologies have great potential to enhance the student learning experience, but also that, at present, various issues limit the implementation of these resources. We offer recommendations to address these issues.
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Design/methodology/approach This study presents the successes and challenges of introducing a mobile learning resource, Pocket Tutor, to bolster autonomous learning in a supported university learning environment. Pocket Tutor was designed and developed in 2019 and integrated in 2020 and 2021 into a multimedia design class offered at a large university in the Asia-Pacific. The resource's effectiveness is measured against common technology acceptance factors-including self-efficacy, enthusiasm, and enjoyment in relation to contextual purpose and class learning outcomes-through a multi-pronged approach consisting of a class-wide survey, developed specifically for this purpose, and analysis of usage data. Deeper context was also provided through a small pool of follow-up interviews. Purpose The Pocket Tutor learning resource that was designed and evaluated in this study responds to a number of teaching and learning challenges within the tertiary education context. These include those related to the number and type of learning activities that can be offered, class pacing, subject-specific content considerations, and the availability and quality of off-the-shelf learning resources. Educators have to potentially contend with all of these amidst mounting institutional constraints and external pressures. Yet, a supplemental, from-scratch online learning resource can help mitigate some of these challenges. Findings Evidence from our data suggests that a bespoke, mobile learning resource can provide greater consistency, more relevance, more flexibility for when and where students learn, and more efficiency with limited opportunities for synchronous interaction. At the same time, a bespoke mobile learning resource represents a significant investment of skill and time to develop and maintain. Originality/value The present study responds to calls from scholars who argue that more research (especially that is qualitative and discipline-specific) is needed to investigate students’ willingness to use learning apps on their mobile devices. This study pairs such research about student willingness with actual usage data and student reflections to more concretely address the role of mobile learning resources in higher education contexts. It also, importantly, doesn’t just assess perceptions and attitudes about mobile learning resources in the abstract but assesses attitudes and usage patterns for specific generic and bespoke mobile learning resources available for students in a specific university class (thereby providing discipline-specific insights). It also provides a unique contribution by including multiple years of data and, thus, offers a longitudinal view on how mobile learning resources are perceived and used in a particular higher education context.
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icicte.org
With the advent of wireless networking at University College Dublin, education through blended learning has been embraced by staff and students alike. Due to the transient nature of students, mobile technologies and wireless local area networks have been employed to facilitate ubiquitous access to resources. This paper assesses the e-learning tools currently available at the university and subsequently evaluates their suitability through qualitative analysis. The results obtained emphasized those issues ...
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Integrating digital tools into language education has transformed traditional teaching methods, offering greater flexibility, increased engagement, and personalized learning opportunities. This study explored how effective Duolingo can be as a supplementary tool in a large speaking class of 60 first-year undergraduate Informatics Engineering students at a university. With the challenges of managing a large group and varying levels of language proficiency, the study used a descriptive qualitative approach over half of the semester to assess Duolingo's impact on student engagement, motivation, and English proficiency. Data were gathered through Duolingo's tracking system, weekly self-reflection reports, in-class observations, and informal interviews. The analysis revealed that Duolingo significantly boosts student motivation and provides valuable practice opportunities outside the classroom, especially in vocabulary and grammar. The quantitative data showed consistent student engagement, with many students regularly earning experience points (XP) and meeting their weekly learning targets. However, the study also highlighted some challenges, such as Duolingo's limited focus on developing conversational skills and the difficulty of addressing the varied proficiency levels within such a large class. While students enjoyed the gamified aspects of Duolingo, they expressed a need for more interactive speaking exercises to help build fluency. Overall, the findings suggest that Duolingo is a useful supplement to traditional language instruction, enhancing engagement and offering personalized practice.
Pedagogical research has proven the efficacy of adaptive learning and collaborative learning, demonstrating that adaptive learning optimizes learning success while collaborative learning sparks cognitive development. Additionally, both methods have been shown to increase student engagement, which researchers point to as a significant factor in increasing learning outcomes.
In this paper, experiences from different research groups illustrate the state-of-the-art of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (henceforth, MALL) in formal and non-formal education. These research samples represent recent and on-going progress made in the field of MALL at an international level and offer encouragement for practitioners who are trying to incorporate these approaches into mainline second language teaching. Furthermore, researchers interested in the field State of the art of language learning design using mobile technology: sample... can see that the work presented here exemplifies how fertile it is, which should hopefully serve as motivation to undertake new studies to move the state-of-the-art further on. ISBN13: 978-1-908416-28-5 (Paperback -Print on demand, black and white) Print on demand technology is a high-quality, innovative and ecological printing method; with which the book is never 'out of stock' or 'out of print'.
ICERI2018 Proceedings 11th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation November 12th-14th, 2018 — Seville, Spain, 2018
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Mobile Learning, or M-learning as it is often called, is a relatively new tool in the pedagogical arsenal to assist students and teachers as they navigate the options available in the expanding distance learning world. This article assesses some of the possible methods, challenges and future potential of using this approach in a college classroom and describes an empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of M-learning in a college classroom. One hundred twelve students in an introductory survey course in sociology were given the opportunity to use an M-Learning product developed by HotLava Software for the purpose of assisting them in preparation for two scheduled exams. Both practice and review questions were made available on Smart Phones, Web enabled phones, PDAs and other Internet capable mobile devices via Learning Mobile Author. Forty-two of the 112 students in the class chose to access these data via their personal devices and their responses were collected and recorded. The results of their performance, as indicated by a final grade in the course, were compared to the outcomes for those students who chose not to use the M-Learning tool. Students using the software demonstrated a higher level of knowledge of the subject matter covered in the course when compared to students choosing not to use the tools (p<.01). Conclusions and a discussion of these outcomes are offered as well as some inferences and speculation regarding the future of M-Learning in the classroom and beyond. Mobile Learning (M-Learning) is a relatively new tool in the pedagogical arsenal to support students and teachers as they navigate the options available in the expanding world of distance learning. M-Learning is learning accomplished with the use of small, portable computing devices. These computing devices may include: smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and similar handheld devices. M-learners typically view content and/or lessons in small, manageable formats that can be utilized when laptop or fixed station computers are unavailable. It is currently being used in a variety of educational, governmental and industrial settings. This paper assesses some of the possible methods; challenges and future potential of using this approach in a college classroom and provides an empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of this and similar tools. MOBILE LEARNING The first published studies focusing on M-Learning began around 2000. In the April 2000 issue of Computers and Education, Sharples (2000) discussed the potential for new designs in personal mobile technologies that could enhance lifelong learning programs and continuing adult educational opportunities. Many, if not all, of the ideas raised in Sharples' early article are still evolving and are of interest to M-Learning today. Donna Abernathy's article "Get Ready for M-Learning" (2001) provides one of the first looks at the technology and how it could affect future business approaches with regard to learning initiatives. This article may also be counted as an early alert about the potential to this already expanding learning option. Abernathy observes that M-Learning options don't necessarily seek to replace the PC as a be-all tool, but instead notes that it will help supplement corporate learning objectives with on-the-go tools. Businesses hope this will increase willingness among their employees and customers to interact with other learners and provide rapid feedback for corporate and sales force personnel. Although wifi technically existed at the time the Abernathy article was written, it was not fully developed or nearly as ubiquitous as it is currently. Abernathy accurately noted that the fledgling state of wifi technology could be a major stumbling block for future advances. Between 2002 and 2006 numerous studies began to appear that reported similar findings indicating M-Learning technologies were expanding and becoming commonplace in a variety of learning environments.
