NEALLT 2012
“Teacher Roles and Practices in
Technology-Enhanced Instruction”
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
March 30 - April 1
Presented by
Luba Iskold, Ed. D
Muhlenberg College
Presentation Outline
 Introduction:
 Research related to the use of SNSs for SLA
 Research on development of L2 Identities
 Why Facebook?
 Potential benefits and possible drawbacks
 Instructor roles: researching conceptual frameworks for teaching
 Cognitive apprenticeship
 Situated cognition
 Alternative vs. real identity profiles
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Classroom examples
Academic benefits and limitations
Student reactions to class-related FB experiences
Conclusions
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Research Related to SNSs & SLA
 With Web 2.0, current generation of students has developed “new
learning styles and qualitatively different thought patterns”
(Thorne & Payne, 2005)
 SNSs “foster the ideal language learning environment, one that
encourages interaction and collaboration-the major goals, after all,
or of language itself” (Lomicka & Lord, 2009)
 Learning a language through interactions with others ties in with
Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural approach to learning and its later
adaptation for L2 teaching and learning
 Incorporating communicative acts via an SNS “could be as practical
for [L2] students as teaching them how to order in a restaurant”
(McBride, 2009)
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Research on Development of L2 Identities
 Performing identities’ is the central activity on SNSs where users
“write themselves into being” (Atkinson, 2002)
 Acquiring an L2 involves the development of a new identity
(Pavlenko & Lantolf)
 CMC affords additive (vs. subtractive in face-to-face)
experimentation with multiple identities
 SNSs are characterized by “radical expansion of possibilities for
artistic expression” (McBride, 2009)
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Choosing a SNS: Why Facebook?
 Student familiarity with this particular SNS eliminates the need for
L1 training
 Ease of navigation and use
 Privacy settings
 Ability to set the interface and IM in L2
 Convenience: meeting social and class needs in one place
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Facebook for Class: Student Challenges
 Personal reasons not to be ‘friends’ with someone in class
 ‘Popularity contest’-may elevate anxiety and cause alienation in
some L2 learners
 Lack of L2 pragmatic knowledge in introductory language courses
may make writing and interactions with others difficult
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Facebook for Class: Instructor Challenges
 Should the instructor be included?
 Do students find it awkward?
 Is there a difference between communicating with an authority




figure via email vs. a SNS?
 Do SNSs undermine instructor’s authority?
(Mazer, Murphy & Simonds, 2007)
Curricular limitations- difficulty to incorporate additional
activities into syllabi
Time constraints- first learn about the technology and only then
design own teaching
Resistance from more traditional instructors
Development of assessment strategies and grading parameters
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Instructor as mediator,
facilitator and guide:
Researching conceptual frameworks
for teaching
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Cognitive Apprenticeship
 Apprenticeship - an approach to education used since ancient Greek
and Roman eras
 Two types of apprenticeship: manual and intellectual
 Cognitive apprenticeship - suggested by Collins, Brown, and
Newman (1989):
 Content is presented in realistic and authentic contexts
 Sequence of instruction progress from difficult to complex
 Sociology of instruction focuses on functioning in a social
environment
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Teaching and Learning within a Cognitive
Apprenticeship Framework
Instructor Roles:
 Providing support
 Offering hints
 Giving feedback
 Asking questions
 Fading the support as the learner’s performance improves
 Encouraging
 Praising
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Teaching Strategies
(Hosenfeld et al., 1996)
 Modeling
 An expert is carrying out a task so that students can observe and build a
conceptual model of the process
 Coaching
 Observing students while they carry out a task and offering hints, feedback,
reminders, directing attention to specific aspects of tasks
 Scaffolding
 Providing support when students are carrying out a task
 Articulation
 Getting students to articulate their knowledge or reasoning
 Reflection
 Enabling students to compare their own problem-solving processes with those
of an expert (or peers)
 Exploration
 Pushing students into a mode of problem-solving and decision-making
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Situated Cognition
(Choi and Hannafin, 1995)
 Providing enabling experiences in authentic contexts
 Enabling active learning
 Cultivating learning process vs. learning outcomes
 Exploring content from multiple perspectives
 Understanding how, when, and why to use knowledge in
various situations
 Emphasizing cultural knowledge
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Conceptual Framework for Situated
Learning Environments
Important components:
 Context
 Content
 Facilitation
 Assessment
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Forms of Facilitation:
 Modeling
 Scaffolding
 Coaching
 Guiding
 Advising
 Collaborating
 Fading
 Using cognitive tools
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Suitability for teaching
with SNSs ???
 Textbook materials enable learners to access existing
representations of content
 SNSs
 Enable learners to create their own representations of content
 Encourage active learning
 Stimulate active engagement of students in the learning process
 Provide opportunities to internalize information
 Require facilitative rather than didactic teaching
 Facilitation is more continuous and less directive than in traditional
instruction
 Knowledge is better transferred to new real-life situations
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Examples of what was done in Russian
Language and Literature Classes
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Examples of Tasks:
 Develop an imagined L2 identity
 Provide physical and personal descriptions
 Converse about daily routines
 Discuss likes and dislikes, hobbies
 Discuss events and places
 Clarify unclear words and phrases
 Predict and extend plot development
 Ask clarification questions
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Alternative vs. Real
Identity Profiles









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Extending oneself by taking the point of view of one’s respective character
Choosing among the characters may increase motivation and interest
Keeps learners away from overindulging in themselves
Student popularity in class may suffer less
Engage in further development of L2 characters
Use critical thinking and analytical skills to invent new situation and
plot developments
Employ additional resources to develop characters’ attributes and ensure
their authenticity
Participate in task-based experiential learning focused on online
exchanges between characters
Learn how to make predictions relevant to the country where L2 is spoken
Creating stereotypes seems less dangerous
(vs. collaborating in groups to create a fictitious L2 profile)
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Facebook Post-Survey
Questions
Helped me express myself more creatively
Provided an additional way to interact with peers in class
Helped me spend more time writing and communicating in Russian
Motivated me to experiment with a Russian character identity
Was a “popularity contest” in class
Distracted me from learning the course content
Consumed too much time relative to other assignments
Motivated me to expand my vocabulary in Russian
Motivated me to look for additional resources to develop my character’s
attributes
My peers in class quickly reacted and commented on my profile
I frequently updated and checked my Russian profile
I found it awkward to have my instructor on my ‘friends’ list
I had trouble being ‘friends’ with individuals in class
Instructor’s corrective feedback diminished my ego
I was familiar with Facebook and did not need technical assistance
I would like to continue using FB for my study of Russian
Standard
Deviation
Mean
0.629
1.113
0.921
0.094
0.213
0.276
0.327
1.001
0.862
3.61
3.94
3.67
3.89
2.06
2.00
2.11
3.83
3.80
0.292
0.412
0.519
0.412
0.328
1.184
3.07
2.60
1.80
1.87
1.93
4.27
0.763
3.33
Note. Judgments were made on 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
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Academic Benefits
Students:
 Learn to analyze and appreciate netiquette
 Develop critical thinking about social interactions with others
 Distinguish what is public and what is private
 Learn to avoid indulging in uncritical narcissism as in “me-me-I-I-I”
(Thorne & Payne, 2005)
 Integrate new knowledge and other’s perspectives into one’s
personal experience
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Limitations
 Because SNSs are used primarily to maintain social bonds, exchanges
are brief and frequently use simplified language, spelling,
and colloquialisms
 Writing does not require a “process” approach
 Texts are scanned rather than read thoroughly
 Messages with images are perceived differently than plain text
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Conclusions
 Use SNSs projects that can support course objectives
 Explain the connection to students
 Discuss upcoming projects and potential problems
 Specify expected quality and quantity of communication
 Develop brief tasks tied to topics covered in class
 Provide corrective feedback only in individual messages
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Bibliography
Atkinson, D. (2002). Toward a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition. Modern
Language Journal, 86, 525-545.
boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
Davis, I. (2005, July 4). Talis, Web 2.0 and all that. Internet Alchemy blog. Retrieved December 31, 2008,
from http://iandavis.com/blog/2005/07/talis-Web-20-and-all-that
Lange, P.G. (2007). Publicly private and privately public: Social networking on YouTube. Journal of
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language learning (pp. 1-11). San Marcos, Texas: CALICO.
Mazer, J.P., Murphy, R.E., & Simonds, C. J. (2007). I'll see you on "Facebook": The effects of computermediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate.
Communication education, 56, 1-17.
McBride, K. (2009). Social Networking sites in foreign language classes: Opportunities for re-creation. In
L. Lomicka, & G. Lord, The next generation: Social networking and online collaboration in foreign
language learning (pp. 35-58). San Marcos, Texas: CALICO.
Pavlenko, A., & Lantolf, J.P. (2000). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of
selves. In J.P. Lantolf (Ed.), Mediating discourse online (pp. 331-355). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Sykes, J.M., Oskoz, A., & Thorne, S.L. (2008). Web 2.0, synthetic immersive environments, and mobile
resources for language education. CALICO Journal, 25, 529-546. Retrieved December 26, 2008, from
https://calico.org/page.php?id=5
Thorne, S. L., & Payne, J.S. (2005). Evolutionary trajectories, internet mediated expression, and
language education. CALICO Journal, 22, 371-397. Retrieved December 26, 2008, from
https://calico.org/page.php?id=5
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11, 544-564.
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Contact Information:
Dr. Luba Iskold
2400 Chew Street
Muhlenberg College,
Languages, Literatures and Cultures,
Allentown, PA 18104
Phone: 484-664-3516
Fax: 484-664-3722
E-mail: iskold@muhlenberg.edu
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/forlang/LLC/iskold_home/ind
ex.htm
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