re-visiting the pedagogy of the languages of minority communities - frisian mooc
TRANSCRIPT
Frisian MOOC
dr. W.F. de Boer Afûk Institute for the Frisian Language
Friday 26th June, 2015
Vernon Square Campus University of London
Re-visiting the pedagogy of the languages of minority communities
Fryslân
• 620,000 inhabitants: – 94% understand
– 74% speak
– 65% read
– 17% write
• 55% Frisian mother tongue
Frysk tichtby….
(Bring Frisian language close to people)
The goal of the Afûk is to promote the knowledge and use of the Frisian language as well as promoting the interest in Fryslân and its culture.
A MOOC?
• a course with a start and end date
• open with no barriers to entry
• neither cost nor education criteria
• online, accessed on the Web
• massive: significant number of students to contribute to a connected learning environment
• “distributed content”: course content is accessed on the Web for free rather than from textbooks
Dave Cormier
History of MOOCs
• 2008: Stephen Downes and George Siemens (Canada) online course Connectivism and Connective Knowledge: 2,200 students
• Stephen Downes: – cMOOC: ‘c’ stands for Connectivist – xMOOC: modeled on traditional
course materials, learning theories and h.e. teaching methods.
• Stanford University: Artificial
Intelligence course in 2011. Expected a a few thousan; went to 160,000
http://moocnewsandreviews.com/ultimate-guide-to-xmoocs-and-cmoocso/
Most popular courses (2014)
• Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship | Coursera
• Introduction to Statistics | Udacity • Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master
tough subjects | Cousera • Introduction to Computer Science | Udacity • Principles of Project Management | Open2Study • CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science | edX • Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence | Coursera • Introduction to Finance | Coursera • Strategic Management | Open2Study • R Programming | Cousera
Problem with language MOOC?
• Systems are not made for language learning
• Systems are not so “open”
• Can you learn a language online?
Learn the basics of Frisian
• A 3 week course of about 3 hours every week • For anyone that has a interest in learning languages • No need to have prior knowledge of the Frisian language. • Focus of the course is on understanding (reading and
listening) Frisian, aside the first steps in speaking Frisian. • Goals:
– introduce yourself and get to know other learners – talk about your family, friends, work and study – learn the basics of spelling and grammar – learn about Fryslân and Frisian culture
Characteristics
• CEFR
• Focus on use, focus on realistic use
• Interactive (communicative) approach
The planning in the course:
Week Theme Goals Frisian culture
1 To meet Tell your name, age, where you live,
you like
Ask someones name, age, where
(s)he’s from
Village and town
2 Me and my
family and
friends
Introduce your family
Ask if you are related
Tell how you feel
Ask questions
Sport
3 Communi-
cation
Telephone conversation
Living and working
Holliday and spare time
Food
Habbits
New possibilities for the community/heritage languages?
• People from all over the world with direct or indirect connections
• People that come to live/work in the region
• Students interested in language sciences/ history
• People that might want to do a course, but first want to explore
• People that consider to live and work in the region
• …
MOOCs
are open to anyone – no mandatory qualifications
have no fees for study
have enrolments at start >>> learners at end
have learners who are not students of universities
are fully online
are very lightly tutored & supported
do offer assessment (in various forms)
have low study hours per week, on modules not degree programs
offer ‘certificates of completion’ rather than credits (but…)
are a different business model to trad HE
Jeff Haywood