招靜琪 國立政治大學英文系 發表於輔仁大學英文系主辦「英語教學與自主學習研討會」 (English Teaching and Autonomous Learning Conference)

1. Supporting Self-access Foreign Language Learning through Social Networking – Towards a Learning Community 招靜琪 國立政治大學英文系 發表於輔仁大學英文系主辦「英語教學與自主學習研討會」 (English Teaching and Autonomous Learning Conference) April 8, 2009

2. Introduction • ‘Learning community’ is a way to encourage learning through intense social networking and positive inter-dependence. • Recent W2.0 has led to some websites that claim to promote language learning through social networking. • But are they really LCs?

3. Introduction -2 • This concept is consistent with the recent “social turn” in second language acquisition (Block, 2003) and the acceptance of Vygotsky initiated sociocultural historical theoretical (SCT) perspectives, which are now regarded as a valuable contribution to the existing cognitive view of language learning.

4. Introduction -3 • The core of a learning community is a strong sense of community (SOC), which can sustain the individual’s activities within the community.

5. Problem Statements • If LC is to be adopted to encourage self-access language learning, • what insights can be derived by examining some successful learning communities? • what would be a blueprint of an ideal LC for language learning purposes based on the above analysis? • what could be revealed when the insights are used to evaluate one popular language learning website featured by W2.0 social networking?

6. From the literature: Common methods to support deliberate and reflective self-directed language learning

7. Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

10. Supporting Deliberate and Reflective Self-Directed Learning • The Road To Excellence: the Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Games (Paperback) by K. Anders Ericsson (Author) • The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (Paperback) by K. Anders Ericsson (Editor), Neil Charness (Editor), Paul J. Feltovich (Editor), Robert R. Hoffman (Editor) • "Making of an expert" by K. Anders Ericsson and others, Harvard Business Review, July 2007 they detail three well accepted conditions: 1. Deliberate Practice and sufficient time2. World class coaching • 3. Enthusiastic family supporthttp://www.psy.fsu.edu/faculty/ericsson/ericsson.exp.perf.html

12. Not just an opportunity to chat. Seeking a sense of community!

13. Three Exemplary Learning Communities Model 1: National Wright Project Model 2: Tapped In Model 3: Toast Master

14. Analysis Framework McMillan and Chavis (1986) defines SOC by four key factors: • Membership, • Influence, • Fulfillment of individuals needs and • Shared events and emotional connections: A history

15. “NWP is arguably the most successful educational network in the history of American education…” (p. 5 ofLieberman, A., & Wood, D. R. (2003). Inside the National Writing Project: Connecting network learning and classroom teaching. New York: Teachers College.)

16. NWP • Membership: Invited • Influence: TC • Fulfilling needs: • Help is provided when creating teacher knowledge • Continual development after the invitational summer seminar • Shared history: Long-term, local or US-based history

18. TI • Membership: Drop-by guests and paid communities • Influence: Leaders of various sessions • Fulfilling needs: Leading and participating in the after-school sessions • Shared history: Long-term, US based or international • Concerns: One needs to settle in a group to develop SOC. • For some, the content may be too simple or too localized.

19. ToastMaster • The first Toastmasters club was established on October 22, 1924, in Santa Ana, California, by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who conceived and developed the idea of helping others to speak more effectively. More clubs were formed, and Toastmasters International was incorporated under California law on December 19, 1932.

21. TM Mission • “The mission of Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self confidence and personal growth.”

22. Advanced Toastmaster Silver (ATM-S) Advanced Toastmaster Bronze (ATM-B) Competent Toastmaster (CTM) Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Advanced Leader (AL) Competent Leader (CL) Advanced Toastmaster Gold (ATM-G) Honors (Goals)

23. TM • Membership: Drop-by guests or paid members • Influence: Leadership roles • Fulfilling needs: Help is available for delivering presentations, honors to be obtain, fellowship • Shared history: Long-term, local, national or international history • Concern: Quality may vary.

24. Analysis: Matrix DisplayAssertions • Membership: Commitment is crucial. • Influence: Leadership roles allow more opportunity to influence and thus to sustain participation. • Fulfilling needs: A set of good activity focus and substantial content knowledge provided by a strong core group is likely to attract followers. • History: Having a history shows stability of the LC. • Caveat 1: The wider spread the community is and the longer history it has, the more difficult it may be to maintain quality across the board. • Caveat 2: It is not that every community is able to accommodate all kinds of learners.

25. A Tentative Blueprint

26. Presence of a Teacher (or a strong core group) : Advising and Coaching Information on Resources Materials Environments Strategies Identifying problems Directing new paths Knowledge base Setting rules Assessment Management Coaching Help Scaffolding Opportunities Structure Teacher presence Community Experience: Interaction and Social Networking Encouraging commitment Assuming leadership roles Influencing others Developing history by.. Social networking Supporting Encouraging Sharing of experience Sharing of resources Modeling Developing rules Division of Labor Practicing with Peers Group goals and plans Reaching new learning through discussion Learner Engagement: Mindful and Deliberate Practice Setting personal goals Developing core knowledge base & skills Searching for and collecting resources Engage in Deliberate Practice Planning & Reflection Following personal plans Experimenting, Trial and Error Monitoring personal progress

27. Evaluating an Online LC Live Mocha

28. http://www.livemocha.com

35. LM • Membership (Commitment?): Drop-by guests & volunteers • Influence (Leadership?): Volunteer help • Fulfilling needs (Substantial content? A strong core group?): • Possible to have a wide selection of language courses, • but the instructional design and content is too simple. • Many users also abuse the peer evaluation function. • History: Not much history yet; stability is a concern.

36. Presence of a Teacher (or a strong core group) : Advising and Coaching Information on Resources Materials Environments Strategies Identifying problems Directing new paths Knowledge base Setting rules Assessment Management Coaching Help Scaffolding Opportunities Structure Community Experience: Interaction and Social Networking Encouraging commitment Assuming leadership roles Influencing others Developing history by.. Social networking Supporting Encouraging Sharing of experience Sharing of resources Modeling Developing rules Division of Labor Practicing with Peers Group goals and plans Reaching new learning through discussion Learner Engagement: Mindful and Deliberate Practice Setting personal goals Developing core knowledge base & skills Searching for and collecting resources Engage in deliberate practice Planning & Reflection Following personal plans Experimenting, Trial and Error Monitoring personal progress

37. Conclusion • We have derived insights about LC from analyzing some successful models. • A tentative LC blueprint for language learning purposes has also been attempted. • When the insights are used to evaluate one popular language learning website featured by W2.0 social networking, we could identify some possible problems. • W2.0 may not be LC. Social networking does not always lead to learning. As language educators, we need to be very careful about such claims.