Language Learning

Wide Minds Pedagogic Evaluation Study Seeks Participants

Tuebingen (GER), October 2010 - This "eLearning for Languages" evaluation study draws on Moodle-based eLearning tools, contents, and activities from ongoing EU projects. It is being carried out by the Applied English Linguistics group at the University of Tuebingen and offers model units to individuals interested in the study.




Have you always wanted to blend eLearning into your foreign language classroom but are unsure about where to start and how to go about it? Do you need help discovering what tools and possibilities exist and how to pick the right ones? And how can eLearning help your learners anyway?

Teachers and secondary schools are invited to participate and try out smaller or larger Moodle-based eLearning units in their foreign-language classrooms. The focus is on eLearning activities that emphasize

  1. authentic language learning with pedagogically annotated spoken interviews covering a wide range of socio-cultural and regional topics (BACKBONE frame);
  2. written and spoken online collaboration between learners from different cultural and first-language backgrounds (icEurope frame).

Teachers can choose from several sample units implemented using Moodle. These units can be used as they are; they can also be transferred to the chosen target language or adapted to individual pedagogic preferences. Sample units can be visited at the Wide Minds site in the section "WiMi sample units". For more ideas, also see the WiMi Multilingualism for Visitors area.

Shorter and longer evaluation activities can be organized between September 2010 and April 2011. Participating teachers will receive eLearning support during the planning, implementation, and actual classroom stages. This includes access to more general introductions to using eLearning and blended-learning activities in foreign-language teaching.

Participation in the "eLearning for Languages" evaluation study is free of charge, but the number of courses is limited.

The study is funded with support from the European Commission and involves BACKBONE: Pedagogic Corpora for Content and Language Integrated Learning and icEurope: Intercultural Communication and Foreign Language Learning, as well as Wide Minds: The Human Face of Digital Learning.