Skype and the web: how learners develop new online literacies to promote learning in telecollaboration

Sarah Guth & Francesca HelmUniversity of Padova, Italy

„In the dynamically evolving and turbulent global culture, multiple literacies necessitate multicultural literacies, being able to understand and work with a heterogeneity of cultural groups and forms, acquiring literacies in a multiplicity of media, and gaining the competences to participate in a democratic culture and society.“

(Kellner 2002:166)

Multiple dimensions of Telecollaboration 2.0

new online literacies ICCsavoir...

Language learning(CEFR)

Operational‘technical stuff’

computer literacy information literacy participation literacy new media literacies code-switching

apprendre/fairecomprendre

Spoken productionSpoken interacionWritten productionAural comprehensionWritten comprehension

Operational‘ethos stuff’

willingness to explore, learn from, participate in, create, and collaborate and share in online communities.

etre AutonomyMotivation Willingness to communicate.

Cultural knowledge of literacy practices and appropriate ways of communicating in online contexts

savoirs Linguistic competenceSociolinguistic competencePragmatic competence

Critical how and why new information and communication technologies are used

s’engager Critical Discourse Analysis

Padova-Dickinson Exchange (2nd iteration)

tools modes of communication

Interculture wiki (exchange platform)

asynchronous text

Skype synchronous oral / text

other, e.g. blogs, Facebook, email

asynchronous text

13 June 2008 EDEN Annual Conference 2008 Lisbon, Portugal

6

Padova Dickinson

No. 31 28

Majors 22 – MA in International Communications Studies9 - Engineering

Mixed

Exchange Course 22 – B2-C1 level9 – B1-B2 level

B1 level, 3rd semester

Mean age 23 18

Exchange goals & tasks

Goals:Based on the C’s set by the American Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century:Communication Culture/sComparisonsConnections Communities

Tasks:9 1-hour weekly Skype sessions in the respective language-labs based on predetermined topicspreparatory questions on the wiki before each synchronous sessiondevelopment of a bi-lingual wiki page in groups of 4 (weeks 3-7)

Why wiki and Skype: a multimodal online application

▫ Video or voice chat and synchronous text▫ Allows communication between multiple users▫ Can instantly share links, files, images ▫ Free recording software – Pamela

Wiki: a tool for collective authoring▫ Asynchronous editing and commenting▫ Allows for upload of multimedia files▫ It’s public, free and open

Use of both tools requires:▫ multitasking▫ multimodal communicative competence▫ multiliteracies

Research questions• How do learners use the different modes of

communication available (text chat whilst engaging in voice chat) in Skype?

• Do learners make use of other online resources available to them whilst chatting in Skype?

• For what purposes do learners use these resources and what added value, if any, do they bring?

In the end, what, if anything, can we teach our students, or how can we develop tasks, to promote these online literacies?

Research methods: action research

Data• survey results• audio files• student transcripts of audio files• student analyses of audio files• text chat transcripts• ICC self assessment• wiki pages: collaborative project & learner diary• teacher observations

Suburbs: preparatory questions

Example 1: John and Anna

[13/11/2008 17.08.45] anna says: palazzi[13/11/2008 17.11.12] anna says: poste[13/11/2008 17.14.42] anna says: spacciatori[13/11/2008 17.16.28] anna says: malissimo[13/11/2008 17.17.33] anna says: double rooms[13/11/2008 17.18.56] John says: carlisle[13/11/2008 17.21.10] anna says: 15000[13/11/2008 17.25.18] John says: buroughs[13/11/2008 17.27.30] anna says: boroughs[13/11/2008 17.28.50] anna says: ghetto

Example 2: Kimberly and Maria[13/11/2008 16.49.55] Maria says: allora[13/11/2008 16.49.59] Maria says: io vivo in città[13/11/2008 16.50.08] Maria says: e quindi non conosco molto bene[13/11/2008 16.50.14] Maria says: la situazione nelle periferie[13/11/2008 16.50.17] Maria says: però penso[13/11/2008 16.50.31] Maria says: in città[13/11/2008 16.50.42] kim says: in New York[13/11/2008 16.50.50] Maria says: i nomi delle città non si traducono[13/11/2008 16.51.04] Maria says: :)[13/11/2008 16.51.30] kim says: :O

Example 3: Kimberly and Maria

[13/11/2008 16.53.28] Maria says: perchè in italia ci sono molti immigrati[13/11/2008 16.53.34] Maria says: ma non siamo abituati[13/11/2008 16.53.44] Maria says: e quindi la gente ha molta paura[13/11/2008 16.53.52] Maria says: ma sono pregiudizi

Teacher observations (Italy)• students blush, gesticulate and are very expressive, e.g.

lots of smiling, even though there’s no video

• students often have multiple text chats going on at the same time with their ‘in-class’ peers, often in the local dialect

• students are very focused on what they are doing and are not easily distracted by the sounds and movements of their peers around them

• almost all take notes on pen and paper when Skyping with their peers

Preliminary findings• Text chat is used:

▫ to start▫ to resolve technical glitches with audio▫ to overcome misunderstandings▫ to check understanding▫ to teach one another L2▫ to share links▫ to say things they don’t want others in the room to hear▫ to use emoticons to express emotions like

embarassment

• Other online resources used:▫ online dictionaries, to look up words▫ the Web, to find answers to questions, to share

information, to illustrate ideas and concepts▫ wiki pages, to overcome pauses and work on

collaborative project

Using Skype to communicate with my peer was an effective way to exchange information.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

Correcting my partner's Italian was difficult.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

Speaking my native language to non-native speakers is harder than I thought.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

It's difficult to speak, read, write and listen all at the same time.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

It was useful to share links and look at websites together while talking on Skype.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

I used online resources (e.g. dictionaries) when Skyping to facilitate my own comprehension and production.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

Text chat in Skype sometimes helped us understand each other.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

I can use different media (text, audio, images) to help me communicate what I want to say.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

I've learnt some new skills for communicating online.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

I think it's important to communicate in a variety of modes (spoken, written, asynchronous, synchronous).

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

I've gained knowledge about online communication.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

You need more than foreign language skills to participate in online intercultural exchanges.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

Using Skype to communicate with my peer was an effective way to exchange information.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree

Conclusions … so far• Learners DO use the different modes of communication

available (text chat whilst engaging in voice chat) in Skype, albeit in different ways.

• SOME learners make use of other online resources available to them whilst chatting in Skype.

• Questionnaire results indicate that most students find that using the web during intercultural exchange provides added value, but many find the multitasking involved challenging.

• Task design should incorporate development of online literacies, and not take them for granted.

Further work• Establish method for researcher transcription of

audio files • Find effective way to integrate information about

the multitasking that occurs during skype chats ▫ Screen capture▫ Debriefing▫ Direct observation

• Plan teacher interventions on multiliteracies for next iteration

• Start exploring cultural and critical dimensions of our framework