New Directions in Telecollaborative Research and Practice:
The Second Conference on Telecollaboration in University Education
21-23 April 2016
Keynote talk by Professor Celeste Kinginger, Pennsylvania State University
"Telecollaboration and Student Mobility for Language Learning"
This presentation will consider the real and potential curricular roles of telecollaboration from the perspective of research on language learning and physical student mobility. We will focus on research examining the social-interactive and pragmatic dimensions of language use, that is, the areas in which time spent abroad is believed to make the most important contribution to communicative repertoires. Remarkable individual differences in achievement are documented in most studies in this domain, and these findings have inspired an array of research into the qualities of study abroad as a context for language learning. Students abroad have been shown to experience difficulties in establishing local social networks, as they position themselves within newly salient national identities, or are positioned by interlocutors as foreigners with questionable rights to appreciate and to learn local sociolinguistic norms. It has become clear that many learners approach their task with little awareness of diverse language varieties and registers within their host communities. Prior socialization in classrooms can also limit the range of their participation in informal conversations and thus, their development of interactive capacities. Whether implemented as preparation for physical mobility or as concurrent support for language learners abroad, telecollaboration holds the potential to address these issues. In telecollaborative pedagogies, students can create social connections with their peers, see themselves though the eyes of others, be exposed to specific attitudes and discourses about foreigner identities, experience and analyze spoken or informal forms, and expand their discourse options beyond the strictly pedagogical. In conclusion, I will discuss specific approaches to assisting learners as they develop language awareness in both settings.
The Academic Committee gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the conference sponsors:
- Fáilte Ireland / MeetInIreland.com
- Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute
- Trinity College Dublin Association and Trust
- Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Trinity College Dublin
