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University of Valencia
The Use of Technology in Teaching English First Additional Language in the Rural Areas of Limpopo Province View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margaret Malewaneng Maja
The use of technology can be a complex issue where English is used as the first additional language with limited resources - especially in historically disadvantaged areas of South Africa. This study was conducted in the rural primary schools at Mogodumo circuit, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The purpose of the study is to determine the extent to which rural primary school teachers used technology in the teaching of English First Additional Language (EFAL) in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6). The study is grounded in interpretivism with teacher self-efficacy (TSE) informing it. The study is a qualitative descriptive case study with observations and semi-structured interviews utilised to collect data. Purposive sampling assisted in selecting fifteen EFAL teachers, of which six were male and nine were female. Data collected were categorised into codes and themes. The findings reveal that EFAL teachers used laptops, cell phones, and printers as technological tools in teaching EFAL. It was concluded that EFAL teachers were not prepared in the use of technological tools. It is recommended that the Mogodumo circuit managers should organise in-service teachers’ training and offer support and motivation during the monitoring of teaching and learning in schools.
Designing and Implementing Smart Online Language Learning Modules View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anastasia-Olga (Olnancy) Tzirides
This paper investigates pedagogical practices to enhance language learning based on a translingual and multimodal framework involving digital tools and peer engagement. More broadly, this study addresses the ways in which, by incorporating digital tools in learning, the digital literacy of students is extended, as well as their language proficiency. In these ways, this study explores human-technology interaction as an integral part of the contemporary communicative repertoire. Students in this context are encouraged to use digital tools effectively to facilitate multilingual communication in digitally mediated, peer language learning contexts and by extension to facilitate multimodal meaning-making capacities in their everyday lives. The paper proposes a teaching and learning design grounded in the efficient integration of innovative digital tools, in a rich setting of peer language learning based on a translingual/multimodal theoretical framework. The findings from this study support the work of second/foreign language learning teachers, educational technology providers, and governments to develop more advanced and real-life digital solutions, policies, and instructional schemes with the goal of preparing students to become independent digital learners while also supporting multilingual and multicultural education.
Note-taking Habits of Turkish Language Teacher Candidates View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mehmet Ali Arici
The aim of this study is to investigate the note-taking habits of Turkish language teacher candidates in terms of various variables. The cross-sectional survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was employed in the study. The data were obtained from 165 undergraduate students studying in two different Turkish language teaching programs in the southeastern part of Turkey. The Note-taking Habits Scale and Personal Information Questionnaire were used to collect the data. All data were analyzed using the SPSS software for Windows release 22.0. The arithmetic mean and standard deviation values, t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that the note-taking habits of the participants differed significantly based on the variables of gender, tendency to write legibly and perception of self-efficacy in terms of (a) fluent writing, and (b) summarizing. On the other hand, the results showed that the variables of grade, reading-listening preference to a text, environment preference for reading (printed or electronic), environment preference for the lecture (face-to-face or online), environment preference for saving notes (physical or electronic), and tendency to share notes were not a determinant of the note-taking habit. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that - contrary to environmental factors- the affective domains of writing (tendency and self-efficacy) are determinative on note-taking habits of Turkish language teacher candidates.
