Language learning tasks ANTWERP CALL 2015

Language learning tasks ANTWERP CALL 2015: Task design and CALL 6-8 July 2015, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain [email protected]

Martha Mendez Universidad EAN, Bogota,Colombia [email protected], [email protected]

Immersive learning and collaborative work in foreign language learning for developing intercultural competences in virtual worlds

Bio data MARTHA MENDEZ B A dedicated teacher of teachers, a language teacher and course designer; an expert in planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating English teaching programs, and in ESP and in Virtual course design and management. Associate researcher in New pedagogical trends research group acknowledged by COLCIENCIAS, Colombia. Research Project advisor and evaluator. Master’s in TEFL and in Applied Linguistics to English as a foreign language. Universidad de Jaén, Spain.

Current research This project presents a study on collaborative work and immersive learning through a Virtual World for developing language and intercultural competences. This study is being performed in the Faculty of Online Education in a Colombian University and its target population is a group of online undergraduate students of Modern Languages who live in a monolingual environment but need to develop speaking skills and intercultural competences in several foreign languages. According to the social-cultural and constructivist approach, meanings and understandings grow out of social encounters. Therefore, this study examines issues concerning the theory and practice of collaborative and immersive learning as well as the educational use of Virtual worlds to enable the learner to develop language skills and intercultural competences through task-based activities, case study discussions as the main learning strategies.

Task design & language learning and teaching Theories of social-cultural constructivism, constructivism, immersive learning, and collaborative work give the ground to the design of the tasks and activities set as part of the learning strategies supported by a virtual world. Considering some authors related to language teaching, Skehan (1998) states that tasks have a goal to be achieved, an activity that evaluates the outcome, a meaning and it is related to the real-world context. Candlin and Murphy (1987) assert that tasks can be effectively organized based on systematic components including goals, input, setting, activities, roles, and feedback. Regarding case study as a learning strategy, the learner faces the description of a specific situation that proposes a problem. This problem must be understood, evaluated and solved by a group of students through a discussion process. Fry et al (1999) describe case studies as complex examples which give an insight into the context of a problem as well as illustrating the main point. Collaborative learning is one of the approaches taken to determine the kind of tasks and activities proposed in this study, Dooly, M. (2008) arguments that “Collaboration entails the whole process of learning. This may include students teaching one another, students

teaching the teacher, and of course the teacher teaching the students, too. ….. students are responsible for one another's learning as well as their own and that reaching the goal implies that students have helped each other to understand and learn”.(Chapter 1). Virtual worlds (VW) offer interaction facilitated by computers and environments that make the multiusers feel the sensation of being in a real world as they have a concrete presence in the virtual reality(VR). Robbins-Bell (2008) defines VW as a synchronous, persistent network of people who interact in artificial environments through agents that take action named avatars. For the purpose of this study, the previous framework provides the meaningful insights to determine the goals, the input data, the settings, the types of activities, the roles, and the feedback in the activities to be fulfilled by the students inside the virtual world to enhance users’ engagement and learning.

Abstract This study presents a research on collaborative work and immersive learning through a Virtual World for developing language and intercultural competences. It is currently being conducted in the Modern Languages program from the Faculty of Online Education at a Colombian University. In such a program, it is essential to determine pedagogical strategies to develop language and intercultural competences and at the same time to foster collaborative work and immersive learning as a challenge in order to manage knowledge, learning processes, and provide students with opportunities to communicate effectively in multicultural and multidisciplinary contexts. This study examines issues concerning the theory and practice of collaborative and immersive learning as well as the educational use of Virtual worlds to enable the learner to develop language skills and intercultural competences through task-based activities, case study discussions, as the main learning strategies. Keywords: virtual worlds,Immersive learning, virtual communities of practice, collaborative work, Second life. Introduction In the Modern Languages program from the Faculty of Online Education at Universidad EAN, most of the students have none or little interaction in international contexts as they have not participated in exchange programs and have not traveled abroad either. Thus, their intercultural communication with native speakers of the language they are learning is almost inexistent which constrains the intercultural exchange learners can obtain from those kinds of activities. According to the social-cultural and constructivist approach, meanings and understandings grow out of social encounters. It is important to consider that target population is a group of online undergraduate students of Modern Languages who live in a monolingual environment but need to develop language skills and intercultural competences in several foreign languages. 1. Theoretical Framework From the view of the constructivist theory an individual constructs knowledge through the interaction between the human beings and the environment. Constructivism considers the learning process is student-centered, knowledge is built from the own learner´s experience, beliefs, and values possessed by the student are used for

interpreting objects and events, and reflection and collaborative work are essential elements of the process. According to Piaget (1973), learning has 3 stages such as assimilation, accommodation, and adaptation. When a person learns a new subject, he establishes a relationship to understand it in accordance to his background knowledge (assimilation). This new information modifies the existent knowledge (accommodation) and it is through transformation that this person fits in new information with existing knowledge (adaptation). In his sociocultural theory Vygotsky (1978) advocates that learning is a social and contextual activity since an individual learns from interacting with others and establishes relationships to what he previously knows, believes or thinks about. Lave and Wenger (1991) consider learning as mediated by the social and language context and refer to the relationships among people along the time and participation in common activities for the groups that make a community. Wenger determines the practice itself as the main function of a community of practice through the participation and knowledge creation based on an identity construction and a sense of belonging by means of collaborative and individual action.”Learning reflects our participation in communities of practice. If learning is a matter of engagement in socially defined practices, the communities that share these practices play an important role in shaping learning. The communities that matter are not always the most easily identifiable because they often remain informal.” (1996, p. 24). Under these circumstances, students working together, namely to do collaborative work, to build and share knowledge, to interact, to develop relationships, feel themselves as part of a community. Bearing in mind the need for determining the kind of learning strategies and activities to enable the learners to develop language skills and intercultural competences in a Virtual World, concepts of a simulated world, immersive learning, learning strategies, task-based activities as well as collaborative work are also the ground of this study. 1.1Virtual worlds Virtual Worlds (VWs) according to Robbins-Bell (2008) are synchronous, permanent network of people interacting in artificial environments through representations of themselves called avatars. VWs are computer-based, simulated 3D environments virtual environments that incorporate representations of real world elements such as human beings, landscapes and other objects and allow users to interact and to socialize with others and lead them to experience the environment and control their avatars using input devices like the keyboard, mouse and other specially designed command and simulation gadgets. In Education, VWs offer immersive learning since it develops cognitive processes, cognitive and communicative competences on a meaningful and reflexive learning basis allowing the learner to self-direct and self- manage his own learning process( Abolghasem, S. H. F, 2010). According to Trahan, Adams, & Dupre. (2011), “There are best practices for lecturing, best practices for evaluation, best practices for distance education, and best practices for online education”(p.2). VWs permit social learning which is based on the assumption that individuals construct understanding of content through conversations and interactions with others (Brown & Adler, 2008). This fact contextualizes the learning activities and engages students in interactions which support their participation in communities of practice, collaborate with peers in group work, create, and share content as it is expected from the group to whom this study is oriented. VWs give the user the opportunity to feel as

though he is really present in the VWs or has the feeling of “being there” (Blascovich et al., 2002; Witmer & Singer, 1998).That is to say that through virtual representations of the individual (the avatar) VWs allow diverse forms of virtual social interactions like those ones held face to face such as verbal communication, non-verbal communication, walking together, using gestures, exchanging ideas, among others that will support intercultural coomunication. 1.2 Immersive learning Immersive learning (IL) is defined in terms of simulations or serious games as “optimized blend of simulation, game element, and pedagogy that leads to the learner being motivated by, and immersed into, the purpose and goals of a learning interaction.(Wexler, S., Corti, K., Derryberry, A., Quinn, C., & van Barneveld, A, 2008, p.3).As mentioned by Méndez (2011), immersive learning gives educators and students the ability to connect and communicate with others who are not present and this greatly enhances their learning experience. Immersive learning environments (ILE) can be mediated through Virtual Worlds (VW). Aldrich, C. (2005) mentioned that VWs offer a lot of possibilities for interaction. “With virtual products, students interact with visual, selectively accurate representations of actual products without the physical restrictions of the reality”(p.52). For the purpose of this study, Second life (SL) has been found as one of the virtual worlds that fosters immersive learning processes and interactions to develop a variety of collaborative work actions and immersive activities to achieve the educational goals . 1.3. Collaborative work Across the literature read on Collaborative learning, some concepts are taken to explain its principles. Gerlach said that "Collaborative learning is based on the idea that learning is a naturally social act in which the participants talk among themselves. It is through the talk that learning occurs." (1994) cited by Alhosani, N.(1998, p.120). Also Roschelle & Teasley define collaboration as “a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem” (1995, p. 72). Regarding the approach to learning, Dooly, M. (2008) argues that “Collaboration entails the whole process of learning. This may include students teaching one another, students teaching the teacher, and of course the teacher teaching the students, too. ….. students are responsible for one another's learning as well as their own and that reaching the goal implies that students have helped each other to understand and learn”.(p.1). In collaborative learning, all the responsibility of the learning process is in the student who joins groups in order to achieve a common goal. 1.4 Learning strategies The learning strategy requires individuals to reflect on the way they are learning (Alexander, Graham, and Harris,1998) and according to Vygotsky´s Social cognitive theory, learning is part of the interaction among the subjects through the mastering of strategies. Besides those concepts, Pressley & Woloshyn (1995) categorized cognitive learning strategies into general cognitive and specific strategies. The general cognitive strategies are those which can be applied to any discipline or situation. Specific cognitive strategies are those which are needed and applied to particular tasks. The learning strategies categories given by O'Malley and Chamot (1990) allow the researcher to clearly set the ground of her study. Those categories are:

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Metacognitive strategies, those ones as a way of being aware of the task to be performed. Quoting O'Malley and Chamot, they are “higher order executive skills that may entail planning for, monitoring, or evaluating the success of a learning activity” (1990, p. 44).  Cognitive strategies to use or transfer the linguistic system knowledge to perform the task in the case of language learning, as the previous authors referenced.  Social/affective strategies which imply cooperative work and interaction which according to Oxford(1990), are related to the management of feelings, emotions which involve stimulating learning through establishing a level of empathy among teachers and students. Keeping in mind VWs, the scope of Constructivism, immersive learning, collaborative work, learning strategies, and task-based activities , it can be said that cognitive processes, communicative and cognitive competences, as well as intercultural competences can be developed through the mediation of VWs as they provide 3D scenarios that recreate real world situations contextualizing learning activities and engaging students in interactions which support their participation in communities, collaboration with peers in group work, to create and share content . 1.5 Learning tasks and Task-based activities A learning task is an activity in which the target language is used for a communicative purpose in order to achieve an outcome (Willis, 1996). Most of the authors agree in some way in the defining criteria tasks have. According to Skehan (1998) ,the defining criteria are: a goal to be achieved, an activity that evaluates the outcome, a meaning and it is related to the real-world context. Candlin and Murphy (1987) assert that tasks can be effectively organized based on systematic components including goals, input, setting, activities, roles, and feedback. Nunan (1989) suggests that tasks can be conceptualized in terms of the specific goals they are intended to serve, the input data, which forms the point of departure for the task, and the related procedures, which the learners undertake in the completion of the task. Briefly, goals refer to the general aim for the task and input represents verbal or non-verbal materials that learners can manipulate. Setting refers to the environment in which the task is performed and activities involve the things participants will be doing in a given setting. Tasks-based activities are oriented to motivate and foster language use and provide the students with learning opportunities to use the language they already have. Based on Willis (1996), an appropriate classroom task is “a goal oriented activity in which learners use language to achieve a real outcome” (p. 53).Task-based activities emphasize on meaning and communication in the target language rather than linguistic elements. and reflect learners ‘real life. Problem solving, sharing experiences, organizing meetings are authentic tasks. The framework of task components provides second language acquisition researchers with some meaningful insights in a task-based syllabus design and authentic material development, for it can serve as the beginning point for designing task-based activities. Ellis (2007) states four main characteristics of a task: focus on meaning the ‘gap’, participants´ choice of the linguistic resources needed to complete the task and a defined outcome. Plough and Gass (1993) have included “negotiation of meaning” as a necessary element in acquisition. Thus, tasks are believed to foster processes of negotiation, modification, rephrasing and experimentation. In this study, it is suggested that the central components of task-based framework include goals, input data, classroom

settings, activity types, and assessment, issues which are considered by the researcher in order to develop language learning and intercultural competences in the target group. 1.6 Intercultural competences Intercultural competences are defined by Fantini & Tirmizi(2006) as “abilities to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself” (Unesco document,p.5). | Deardorff(2006)´s framework model contains elements such as knowledge, attitudes, skills , internal and external outcomes. Knowledge refers to the cultural awareness an individual has on the others which lead to the understanding. According to the referenced author and using his own terms, it includes: cultural self-awareness; deep understanding and knowledge of culture (including contexts, role and impact of culture & others’ world views); culture-specific information; sociolinguistic awareness. Attitudes have to do with the disposition and reflection about one’s social self as having a place in the global world. It implies: respect (valuing other cultures, cultural diversity), openness (to intercultural learning and to people from other cultures, withholding judgment) Curiosity and discovery (tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty). Skills which are related to the abilities to interact, to listen, observe, and interpret, to analyze, evaluate, and relate with cultural others. Internal outcomes rely on the aspects that occur within the individual as a result of the acquired attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary for intercultural competence. From this, an individual is expected to show adaptability, flexibility, “ethnorelative view”, and empathy to take into consideration the existing plurality of languages, religions, histories and identities. Finally, the external outcomes which are supposed to be evident in the individual´s behavior and communication in an effective and appropriate way. Terms like cultural identity, language, values, beliefs, and attitudes, communication are key aspects of intercultural competences that are considered in this study to design the task-based activities. 2. Methodology Once the researcher identified the problem to be explored, in this case the need for a learning strategy to develop language and intercultural competences through immersive learning and collaborative work in virtual worlds, she was guided by a theory in order to provide a framework for her research. Data collection was done on the basis of interaction with the participants through a survey. The survey was related to the students´ interaction with native speakers of other languages as well as cultural knowledge and awareness of those communities. The use of interactive tools for language practice with native speakers and collaborative work were also explored. The criteria for choosing participants to apply the survey were their higher level of foreign language (upper intermediate and advanced). Considering the findings, the researcher was able to determine the students´ needs regarding language practice and culture. As relevant data, the 88,24% of the students who participated in this study had not participated in an international exchange program while 11,76% accepted their participation. The 82% of all students surveyed had never taken a foreign language course abroad before while an 18% has taken courses mainly in English, Portuguese and French. When asking them whether they attended or not online meetings with native speakers of other languages, the 53% had no participation compared to the 47% that said they had by means of the internet, in spaces like forums, chats or virtual communities. Focusing on the practice of foreign

languages through social networks, the 53% practiced some foreign languages using social networks while the 47% did not participate in this kind of sites to practice languages. It was found that the main application used by 85% of all of participants to communicate and even to practice foreign language is Skype, followed by Facebook chat with 75%. The 41% of all participants confirmed they had never joined an online community to keep in touch with native speakers of other languages, while the 59% had done it moderately often. Summarizing, these data made the researcher understood limitations of the target group related to the opportunities they had to develop language and intercultural competences. 3. Immersive learning and collaborative work The learning strategy proposed in this study was called a VIRTUAL IMMERSION PROGRAM FOR LEARNERS OF PORTUGUESE and was held during an International virtual exchange between Universidad Católica de Pelotas, Brazil and Universidad EAN, Colombia. It is necessary to clarify that the virtual exchange was the result of the researcher´s initiative in order to consolidate a professional network with the Brazilian professor from UCPel. This virtual immersion program had a main goal: to provide the group of students with opportunities to interact with native speakers of a foreign language (Portuguese for the Colombian students and Spanish for the Brazilian ones)doing collaborative work to develop language skills and intercultural competences as members of a community immersed in virtual scenarios supported by the Second Life platform. This experience in Second Life offered the creation of a space for interaction with native speakers of Portuguese to know not only the aspects of Brazilian culture, but also aspects related to entrepreneurship, negotiation and international business . The activities planned for this experience were designed on a joint work basis with Professor Funck from UCPel-CEDOI, Brazil and ranged from technical tasks related to business and academic topics to entertainment and cultural issues in which participants interacted living sights and sounds of virtual environments which recreated real scenarios. A call for students was done for those who were willing to participate in this first version of the virtual exchange between Universidad EAN and UCPel through Second life. Sixteen students answered to the call and they were divided into four groups of four people each group. The virtual immersion lasted six months from March to September. There were meetings every two weeks as a whole group. However, each of the groups met regularly in Second life as they had to fulfill task-based activities on collaborative work basis during the twenty eight weeks of the exchange. All the instructions to interact and participate in the activities were given previously by the coordinators through some of SL communication tools such as notecards, chats and Instant Messages. They became synchronous and asynchronous interactions within the Second life (SL) scenarios to feed the needs regarding online or offline communication. The participants received instructions during the whole group meetings held in SL and training in the use of SL features according to needs was offered too. The residents had the chance to meet with their partners in the groups to practice language skills in Portuguese and Spanish as well as to fulfill the task-based activities and develop motor skills to be able to participate in the Student Game Competitions planned in this Virtual Immersion(VI).A group in Facebook was created to ensure each member of the group participating in this experience had the required information and instruction. Pictures were posted in the Facebook group in order to motivate students and illustrate the activities to be done during the scheduled time.

Keeping in mind that the learning strategy proposed was task-based activities, the virtual environments used along this international experience aimed at provoking cultural awareness contextualizing the tasks the participants had to fulfill and at the same time providing the students with knowledge, skills, and opportunities to develop attitudes regarding intercultural competences. That is why students were at a Brazilian hotel, in a Chinese temple, at a heliport, at a Brazilian motor race track, at a Colombian bowling, and at a Brazilian disco among others. Those scenarios contributed in a deliberated way to make the participants develop a sense of belonging and presence in those activities in SL. Challenge was a must in the proposed activities in order to keep motivation and emotional engagement leading to language skills development and cultural awareness. The students had to compete among small groups by doing each of the technical activities following the established criteria (i.e. use of language, extension, referencing, kind of product) and participating by teams in each of the entertainment events. They were rewarded with scores that showed their progress. At the end of each activity or competition, they got Golden, Silver or Bronze Cups which reflected the effort of the members of the teams. The task-based activities were framed into case studies which the students had to work on before, first of all by searching information to support their conversations and second by negotiating possibilities to solve the problem. They took part of a situation that posed some questions and participated in role playing and discussions using Portuguese based on choices the students made. The students analyzed and solved the case study according to their future professional profile (Modern languages students from Universidad EAN and International Trade students from Brazil). The case study is a learning strategy in which the learner faces the description of a specific situation that proposes a problem. This problem must be understood, evaluated and solved by a group of students through a discussion process. Fry et al (1999) describe case studies as complex examples which give an insight into the context of a problem as well as illustrating the main point. For this project, case studies are defined as studentcentered activities based on topics that demonstrate theoretical concepts in an applied setting. This definition of a case study covers the variety of different learning structures Universidad EAN uses in its e-learning programs ranging from short individual case studies to longer group-based activities. Regarding language and culture, the Colombian students were able to know about Brazilian culture and business topics such as entrepreneurship, negotiation and international business. The students participated in various sessions of lectures entirely in Portuguese and had the opportunity to confront ideas and be advised by a professor abroad for the case study that aimed at developing collaborative work with students of the UCPel from Brazil. On the other hand, Brazilian students had the opportunity to develop some basic Spanish language skills for simple actions such as greeting and agreeing in the fulfillment of activities. They also could read aloud some of the works done by the Colombian students. They were also advised by an international professor in the way to solve the case study. Both, the Colombian and the Brazilian participants in this VI, including the teachers, were able to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of the several topics developed along the sessions. This was evidenced in their participations not only using the language but also in the intercultural communication they had. Examples of some activities are illustrated in this study and they belong to the researcher´s personal file.

Figure 1 Cerimônia de Abertura

Figure 4 Professores e estudantes

Figure 2 A exposição plástica

Figure 3 Na Sala do Conselho

Figure 5 Instruções do jogo Bowling

Figure 6 Concurso de dança

5. Conclusions -Working collaboratively, participants could socialize with partners from another country, could observe individual attitudes and could deal with foreigners in different contexts such as rehearsing for sports and games and solving task-based activities working together to elaborate content. -Designing authentic, task-based activities in complex and challenging learning environments supported opportunities for interaction. -Learning by working on concrete theoretical and practical problems provided students with opportunities to develop language skills and intercultural competences. -Immersive learning in Second Life and collaborative work were evidences of abilities to gain and demonstrate intercultural competences. -If students develop skills that allow them to become sensitive and aware of differences within cultures and communities, they become much more competent communicators and well-rounded global citizens. - It provided the group of students with collaborative work opportunities, developing task-based activities. training in the world of work in foreign communities and it was a way to travel crossing frontiers through VW. Further research must be done in order to evaluate and assess the impact of these innovative strategies on immersive learning, collaborative work to develop intercultural competences and as well as language skills on the efforts teachers do to approach other practices by undertaking new ways to construct knowledge in students.

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