Enculturating Self-Directed Mobile Assisted Language Learning

(MALL) and Seamless Language Learning (SLL)

Chee-Kit LOOI & Lung-Hsiang WONG National Institute of Education (NIE)

Nanyang Technological University Singapore

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KAMALL 2014 conference: Technology for Self-Directed Language Learning

Outline

• Review of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL)

• Review of seamless language learning (SLL) • Examples of enculturating self-directed

language learning

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Enculturation: the process whereby individuals learn their group's culture, through experience, observation, and instruction.

Let’s look at mobile learning, then mobile language learning

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Why mobile learning? M-learning is NOT just about anytime, anywhere access of resources, etc.

Chan, Roschelle, Hsi, Kunshuk, Sharples, Brown, et al. (2006)

Portability

Social interactivity

Individuality

Context sensitivity

Connectivity

Bridging physical & digital worlds

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3 generations of mobile learning Yu (2007)

1st gen: transfer of information (transmissionism, behaviourism)

2nd gen: instructional design-centric (cognitivism, constructivism)

3rd gen: 1:1 & context-aware (personalisation, authentic learning)

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Digital contents (e.g., e-Books)

• Anytime, anywhere reading/references?

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Quizzes & games

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Focusing on content apps • Lack of teacher preparation • Treating iPad as a computer / laptop • Treating iPads like multi-user devices • Failure to communicate a compelling answer to

“Why iPads?” 11

mCSCL: Spanish Syllable

Zurita & Nussbaum (2004)

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mCSCL: Chinese-PP

Wong, L.-H., Boticki, I., Sun, J., & Looi, C.-K. (2011). Improving the scaffolds of a mobile- assisted Chinese character forming game via a design-based research cycle. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1783-1793. Wong, L.-H., Hsu, C.-K., Sun, J., & Boticki, I. (in-press). How flexible grouping affects the collaborative patterns in a mobile-assisted Chinese character learning game?, Educational Technology & Society, 16(2). Boticki, I., Wong, L.-H., & Looi, C.-K. (in-press). Designing technology for content-independent collaborative mobile learning. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, doi: 10.1109/TLT.2012.8. 13

Hiroaki Ogata’s Lab

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Context-aware writing

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Wong & Chin (2010), extended from Kukulska-Hulme & Shield (2008)

A simple taxonomy of MALL

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Use of Mobile devices

Mobility of devices

Mobility of learners

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Self-Directed Learning from Singapore’s MOE website

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Seamless Learning • Continuity of the learning experiences across

different contexts/spaces (Chan et al., 2006) – Formal + informal – Individual + social – Physical + digital …

• Mediated by: 1:1, 24x7 access to mobile devices Chan, T.-W., et al. (2006). One-to-one technology-enhanced learning: An opportunity for global research collaboration. Research and Practice in Technology-Enhanced Learning, 1(1), 3-29.

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Chen, Seow, So, Toh & Looi (2010) 25

Facilitated vs Self-Directed Seamless Learning

(Facilitated Seamless Learning, FSL)

(Self-Directed Seamless Learning, SDSL)

Wong, L.-H. (in-press). Enculturating self-directed seamless learners through a Facilitated Seamless Learning process framework. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 26

Enculturating Seamless Learners • Enculturation! – long-term facilitated

seamless learning that engage learners in an ongoing enculturation process …

• … to progressively transform their existing beliefs and methods of learning …

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Facilitated Seamless Learning (FSL) Process Framework

Wong, L.-H. (in-press). Enculturating self-directed seamless learners through a Facilitated Seamless Learning process framework. Technology, Pedagogy and Education.

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“Move, Idioms!”

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“Move, Idioms!” 成语，动起来！ • Design-based Research, Feb-Nov 2010 • 48 Chinese idioms + 8 conjunctions • 34 students from P5 class, 1:1, 24x7 access to

Samsung Omnia II • Used open-source xwiki to create a wiki space for

artifact sharing & peer reviews

Wong, L.-H., Chin, C.-K., Tan, C.-L., & Liu, M. (2010). Students' personal and social meaning making in a Chinese idiom mobile learning environment. Educational Technology & Society, 13(4), 15-26. Wong, L.-H. (in-press). Analysis of students’ after-school mobile-assisted artifact creation processes in a seamless language learning environment. Educational Technology & Society. 30

Show Move Idioms video

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Examples of Student Artifacts

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Can Mobile & Ubiquitous Technology Help?

• Personalised mobile device as a ‘learning hub’ – Learning affordances + learner history (Wong, 2012)

Learning Learner affordances history

Informal settings Formal settings

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A generic Seamless Language Learning (SLL) Framework Wong, L.-H., Chai, C. S., & Aw, G. P. (forthcoming). What seams do we remove in learning a language?: Towards a generic seamless language learning framework. Submitted to: Wong, L.-H., Milrad, M., & Specht, M. (Eds.), Seamless Learning in the Age of Mobile Connectivity. Springer.

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Limitations of Traditional/Current Language Classroom Practice

• Excessive amount of decontextualised information in teaching – confined within classroom

• Unbalanced instructional or learning emphases – Teaching instructions > learner interactions – Lang. knowledge (symbolic) > lang. skills (functional) – Language input > language output

• Reductionist – compartmentalised instruction • PPP (presentation, practice, production) • Lack of promotion of:

– Autonomous learning – Authentic social interactions (in & out of classroom)

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What Second Language Acquisition (SLA) tell us?

• Psycholinguistic or cognitivist/developmental perspectives – Comprehensible input hypothesis (Krashen, 1982) – Comprehensible output hypothesis (Swain, 1985) – Interaction hypothesis (Long, 1983; 1996)

• Sociocultural perspective – Lang. production + thinking (interwoven!) – Input + output = interaction

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What Task-based Language Learning (TBL) tell us?

• Breaking PPP • Willis’ framework (1996)

– Pre-task + task cycle + language focus – Meaning making first! – Don’t correct errors immediately!

Spontaneity & fluency first! – Situational vs. interactional authenticity

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What SLA + TBL tell us?

• Learning by doing (language applications) • Opportunities for social interactions • Interweave input + output • Situationally/interactionally authentic activities • Attention for form + meaning; or meaning

before form • Learners to co-construct linguistic knowledge • Integrate language skills development

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Generic SLL Framework (i) • (SL1) Across time • (SL2) Across locations • (SL3) Encompassing formal & informal learning • (SL4) Encompassing physical & digital worlds • (SL5) Encompassing individual & social learning • (SL6) Knowledge synthesis

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Generic SLL Framework (ii) • (SLL1) Create opportunities for situationally/interactionally

authentic activities among learners • (SLL2) Interweave input & output activities • (SLL3) Interweave learning, application & reflection • (SLL4) Simultaneously draw learners’ attention to form &

meaning, or even meaning before form • (SLL5) Apply multiple language skills in different

combinations • (SLL6) Promote learner co-construction of linguistic

knowledge • (SLL7) Formative assessment & peer evaluation on

learners’ holistic language development

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Follow-up Project: MyCLOUD 语飞行云

• My Chinese Language ubiquitOUs learning Days • Parties:

– National Institute of Education – Singapore Centre for Chinese Language – Nan Chiau Primary School – Microsoft Singapore

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Show MyCloud video

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So, what has our Mobile Seamless Learning (MSL) research

informed the field so far? • The two keywords for SL practice: “Bridging” and

“Enculturation” • Longer term, multi-cycle SL design

– … to enculturate (nurture) students towards self-directed seamless learners

– Systematic variation of activity design across FSL cycles to facilitate learners’ progressive growth in both content knowledge & SL skills/mindset

• A spiral style design: – in present cycle, target knowledge to learn, learning activity types, skill

sets to learn & apply, mobile affordances to use, and student artifacts to reuse & create, are all building on or rising above previous cycles. (bridging)

(Wong, in-press) 43

Contexts

In a context “that which surrounds us”

Creating a context “that which weaves together”

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Learner Generated Contexts (LGC)

• The re-conceptualised ‘learning context’ embodies learners’ relevant prior knowledge & experience, their personal or group-level learning goals, and their emergent interactions with each other and with the given environment. (Wong, in-press)

• So, contexts are dynamic. • “We are much more empowered to augment the

world that we are living.” – Rosemary Luckin (2011.12.1, keynote @ ICCE, Chiang Mai)

Cole (1996); Dourish (2004); Lonsdale, Baber, Sharples & Arvanitis (2004); Luckin (2010); Wong (in-press)

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Weaving Together • Less structured learning activities

– Requiring greater spontaneity and wit – Foregrounding mobility and personalisation – “Mediation by artefacts” and LGC as theoretical

foundation in designing for seamless learning experience

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So This is What I Think ‘Learning’ Should be

• Humans are intrinsic sense makers, looking to organise new information so as to find meanings, significance, or patterns in it …

• … in order to make sense of the world and cope with new situations and problems (Schank, 1999).

• Apart from the formal curriculum, any experience or encounter in a learner’s daily life is a potential source for sense making (or learning). (Wong & Looi, 2011)

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• The opportunities for learning exist everytime, everywhere.

• It is up to an individual who has established the habit of mind and competencies of seamless learning to identify and appropriate such opportunities to advance her/his learning.

• And so it is with enculturating self-directed learning …

(Wong, Chen & Jan, 2012; Wong, in-press)

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The End

Contact me at: cheekit.looi@nie.edu.sg 49