8/9/2019 Poster Eurocall 2010 (Ticheler)

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INSTITUTION-WIDE LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES,

HIGHER EDUCATION AND BLENDED LEARNING

STUDENTS EXPERIENCE OF VIRTUAL LEARNING

ENVIRONMENTS AMONG BEGINNERS AND POST-BEGINNERS OF FRENCH

Nathalie TICHELER

London Metropolitan University

n.ticheler@londonmet.ac.uk

http://www.twitter.com/nvticheler

For a copy of this poster, please access

http://ticheler.blogspot.com

MethodologyFocus on students own experience

Combined positivist and interpretive perspective

Amixed-method approach

96 student self-completion questionnaires with closed and open questions

83 standard university end-of-module feedback forms

6 student follow-up interviews

A combined quantitative and qualitative treatment of data

ResultsOverall satisfaction with Weblearn

Beginners 75.1% are satisfied/very satisfied

Post-beginners 79.2% are satisfied/very satisfied

LayoutBeginners 62.5% are very satisfied/quite satisfied with the layout

Post-beginners 70.8% are very satisfied/quite satisfied with the layout

Contents

Beginners 81.3% are very satisfied/quite satisfied with the contents

Post-beginners 75% are very satisfied/quite satisfied with the contents

Confidence

Beginners 85.4% feel very confident/quite confident in their ability to use

Weblearn

Post-beginners 91.3% feel very confident/quite confident in their ability to useWeblearn

Tips on how to use Weblearn52.1% of both beginners and post-beginners indicate that they do not want the

lecturer to give them extra tips on how to use Weblearn.

Comments from students

BackgroundThe precarious situation of Modern Foreign Languages in HigherEducation in England has been reported by various organisationssuch as the National Centre for Languages (CILT), the Higher

Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and more recently in theWortons report (2009) commissioned by the Higher EducationFunding Council for England (HEFCE). At the same time, variousinitiatives have been launched at national level for Languages (suchas Routes into Languages) and e-learning (such as the ten-yeare-learning strategy launched in 2005, and revised in 2009, byHEFCE).

Today, institutions of Higher Education in the United Kingdom makean increasing use of learning technologies both in and out of theclassroom, for various purposes, and Virtual Learning Environmentsare an important feature of these developments. In this context,students feedback and the quality of their learning experience havebeen placed high on the agenda. Indeed, the National StudentSurvey (2009) indicates that, at national level, 80% of respondentsare satisfied with the learning resources presented to them and that

81% of them express positive views towards their programme ofstudy.

In agreement with policies adopted at national and institutionallevel, the Open Language Programme (OLP) at LondonMetropolitan University, runs an Institution-Wide LanguageProgramme and offers undergraduates, postgraduates and membersof the general public accredited language modules in blendedlearning format (face-to-face lessons and additional self-study basedon Weblearn (Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)).

A survey was conducted among beginners and post-beginners ofFrench during the academic year 2009/2010, with the objective togather students feedback on their experience of the institutions

VLE, in connection with their language module, using largely theirown reported accounts and a mixed method approach to research.

This poster presents preliminary findings of the study and highlightsissues such as the necessary normalisation of the Virtual LearningEnvironment and the lecturers role in order to enhance thestudents experience.

References

The National Student Survey (2009). http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/

hefce/2009/nss.htm

The Higher Education Statistics Agency http://www.hesa.ac.uk

The National Centre for Languages http://www.cilt.org.uk

Worton, M. (2009). A Review of Modern Foreign Languages Provi-

sion in Higher Education in England. HEFCE: London http://

www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2009/09_41/09_41.pdf

HEFCE (2005). Strategy for E-Learning http://www.hefce.ac.uk/

pubs/hefce/2005/05_12/05_12.pdfHEFCE (2009). Enhancing Learning and Teaching through the Use of

Technology (Revised E-Learning Strategy) http://www.hefce.ac.uk/

pubs/hefce/2009/09_12/09_12.pdf)

I prefer the old way...spending time with the

teacher ... knowing what the teacher thinks.

(post-beginner)

It is just my learning preferences .... I do prefer

working with the book. (beginner)

too many pictures, icons, folders and

sub-folders (beginner)

too many materials to choose from (beginner)

Weblearn is self-contained and web-based: I like it. (beginner)

There are a lot of materials to supplement what we do in

class. (beginner)

It is useful: we can access the same materials in class and at

home. (post-beginner)

I like it ... the teacher goes through

everything with us. (beginner)

The interface is fine ... but I would like more

guidance from the teachers. (post-beginner)

EUROCALL BORDEAUX 2010