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Defense Language Institute Foreign Language CenterBILC Conference May 2010

Colonel Danial Pick, USAColonel Danial Pick, USACommandant, DLIFLCCommandant, DLIFLC

Presenter: Donald Fischer, PhD Provost, DLIFLCProvost, DLIFLC

Creating Learning Environments

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this presentation are that of the presenter and do not

necessarily represent the views of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center; its staff, faculty or

students; the Department of Defense or the United States or America.

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Major Movements at DLIFLC

• Test Life Cycle

• Standard Setting—Cizek and Bunch

• Cognitive Research

– Passage Length

– Strengthening Capacity

– Brain Research Group

• Technology Implementation

• Distributed Learning

– http://www.dliflc.edu

– Army Research Institute/DLIFLC Projects

• Web 2.0 Implementation

Creating Learning Environments

Web 2.0 in Education and Training

What is Web 2.0

• Web 2.0 consists of web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design,[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

• A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with each other as contributors to the website's content, in contrast to websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them.

• Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, and folksonomies.

• Can we use these opportunities to support language learning?• We think yes…• REF: Wikipedia

The Need

• ISAF Cdr—General McChrystal (International Force, Afghanistan): language is the key to culture; culture is the key to achieving objectives

• Leaders will know language and culture• ILR Level 1 in speaking• Learners are people in jobs with little

opportunity for formal language training• Let’s use Web 2.0 to meet the need:

Available means for e-mentoring and practicing speaking

Interactional Instinct

• Dopamines and Opiates

• Homeostasis, Sociostasis, Somatics and Preferences

• Bonding, Group Interaction

• Accountability

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Schumann’s Motivation Model

Human motivation operates on the five planes of stimulus-appraisal as below. In other words, DA is produced (1994):

– when an action is relevant to needs and goals;– when a stimulus is novel; – when an action promotes positive self and social

image; – when an action is intrinsically present; and– when there is coping-potential.

Speaking 1 Characteristics(Elementary Proficiency)

• Able to satisfy minimum courtesy requirements and maintain very simple face-to-face conversations on familiar topics.

• Must often use slowed speech, repetition, paraphrase, or a combination of these to be understood by this individual.

• Must strain and employ real-world knowledge to understand even simple statements/questions from this individual.

• Speaker has a functional, but limited proficiency.• Misunderstandings are frequent. • Individual is able to ask for help and to verify comprehension

of native speech in face-to-face interaction.• Individual is unable to produce continuous discourse except

with rehearsed material.• Ref: http://www.utm.edu/staff/globeg/ilrspeak.html

Resources

• Facebook

• YouTube

• Internet

• Apple and Microsoft Platforms

• Interagency Speaking Guidelines• Ref:• http://www.govtilr.org/Publications/ILR Self

Assessments/assessment3speaking.pdf

Objectives (Level 1)

• Do simple greetings and introductory statements• Ask/tell someone how to get to a nearby hotel• Order a simple meal• Arrange for a hotel room and taxi ride• Buy a needed item such as a bus or train ticket, groceries

or clothing• Ask about date and place of birth, status, occupation etc• Make social introductions and use greeting and leave-

taking expressions. • Handle conversations about familiar topics in an

organized way • Produce speech with some organization on familiar

topics that extend beyond daily routine.

Instructional Strategy

• Use Facebook Groups to create virtual classrooms

• Upload videos from personal computers or through YouTube to engage in speaking exercises

• Critique provided by trained speaking assessors

• Repeat to correct errors• Group participants benefit from seeing

each other and the critiques provided by the speech assessor

Instructional Design

• Join Facebook Group: German Classroom• Discuss Level 1 topics based on the objectives

slide using iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, or YouTube

• Load the video on the German Classroom page using Facebook

• Have the teacher write or create a video link in the comment block to discuss the sample

• Repeat attending to the assessor’s recommendations

• REF: Intulogy ADDIE approachhttp://www.intulogy.com/addie/discovery.html

Pilot ProjectGerman Classroom

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/?sk=2361831622

Pilot Project Review

• Cumbersome

• Potentially leaky using Facebook

• Will work with practice

• Can upload through YouTube or from computer

• Test with interviewer

• Potential: Very good

Next Steps

• Produce training materials

• Conduct tabletop review

• Revisions as necessary

• Pilot on a larger scale using volunteer students (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, Navy Postgraduate School)

• Obtain feedback from students

Evaluation and Assessment

• Collect feedback from users (use of DLIFLC Evaluation and Assessment Team; see Pashto E-mentor course evaluation already conducted)

• Assess whether Level 1 is achieved through use of the standard Oral Proficiency Interview used by federal agencies

• Use the DLIFLC Diagnostic Assessment rubric to develop individual plans to progress

• Develop computerized assessments for lower levels

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this presentation are that of the presenter and do not

necessarily represent the views of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center; its staff, faculty or

students; the Department of Defense or the United States of America.

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Defense Language Institute Foreign Language CenterBILC Conference May 2010

Colonel Danial Pick, USAColonel Danial Pick, USACommandant, DLIFLCCommandant, DLIFLC

Presenter: Donald Fischer, PhD Provost, DLIFLCProvost, DLIFLC

Creating Learning Environments