Category: GRETA Journal — 2008, Volume 16, Numbers 1-2

Rocío G. Sumillera. GRETA Journal — 2008, Volume 16, Numbers 1-2. Article. pp. 97–98

GRETA Journal — 2008, Volume 16, Numbers 1-2. Reviews section. p. 99

The aim of our paper is to show how we have implemented the use of ICT and competence teaching in two different modules in the degree of English Philology at the University of Valencia. We also try to demonstrate how their implementation has improved teaching and learning and how it has acted as a powerful catalyst for higher achievement. Using an Innovation and Education Programme (IEP) methodology has helped teaching methodology go beyond the bounds of the classroom. Another change brought about by the IEP is the defence of a cross-cultural teaching method. Furthermore, it has been a useful tool in the integration of the development of student competences. The implementation of the Innovation in Education Programme has strengthened teacher-student contact and promoted students’ class attendance.

GRETA Journal — 2008, Volume 16, Numbers 1-2. Article. p. 92

GRETA Journal — 2008, Volume 16, Numbers 1-2. Article. p. 94

In this article, after a short overview of the use of ICT in English Studies at the Universitat de València and the conditions I think teachers should comply with when planning, designing, creating, monitoring and evaluating activities using ICT, I detail two of the activities I have carried out using new technologies in the obligatory fourth-year module History of the English Language. Although this has traditionally been a very theoretical subject, the activities introduced through the medium of ICT have given it a more practical focus which attempts to give the students the opportunity to learn discipline-specific content, improve their English and acquire subject-specific and general competencies.

El presente proyecto tiene como objetivo principal la introducción y utilización en el aula de una novedosa metodología aplicada a la enseñanza del inglés basada en los podcasts. Se persigue comprobar si su utilización con alumnos/as de 1o de Filología Inglesa produce una mejora significativa en su aprendizaje del léxico y aumenta su motivación. En la introducción se hace un breve recorrido a lo largo de diferentes estudios relacionados tanto con la enseñanza de léxico como con la utilización de esta tecnología en el aprendizaje de idiomas. A continuación, se detallan los objetivos principales, así como la metodología seguida y el programa de ejecución. También se proporcionan los datos de la muestra, variables y diseño del proyecto y se comentan los principales resultados obtenidos en un estudio tanto cuantitativo como cualitativo.

With the advent of new technologies and their consequent integration within the curriculum, teachers need to find attractive activities to substitute and complement more traditional ones. Digital storytelling is one possibility since it contributes to: a) the enrichment of the ePortfolio and b) the use of Web 2.0 technology for language learning. Digital storytelling engages students in both traditional and innovative ways of telling a story, since they learn how to combine basic multimedia tools (e.g., animations) with activities as varied as doing research, writing and delivering presentations (cf. Robin, 2005; Barrett, 2006a, 2006b). In this article, I pay attention to one type of digital story: Personal-Educational Digital Storytelling. I will expand on the adequacy of educational stories as a language learning and teaching tool in EFL and indicate some ways of using them in different subjects by sketching out some activities designed for such a purpose.

Durante años, una de las competencias menos tratadas en la enseñanza de idiomas en la universidad ha sido la competencia oral, debido principalmente al número de alumnos por aula. A día de hoy, y en puertas de los nuevos planes de estudio que dicta Bolonia, la práctica de actividades orales sigue siendo el caballo de batalla de la metodología de enseñanza a distancia (EAD). Este artículo pretende ofrecer una propuesta para la enseñanza y evaluación de la interacción y producción orales dentro del contexto de la educación abierta y a distancia de idiomas. Todo ello será posible gracias a la comunicación mediada por ordenador (CMC), basada principalmente en la utilización de herramientas de comunicación sincrónica como la mensajería instantánea (MI) o los webinars.

The increased use of online technologies and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) in foreign language classrooms has led teachers to broaden the focus of learning to include intercultural understanding, the skills of intercultural interaction, as well as electronic literacy. However, while the development of e-literacy and intercultural communicative competence may be seen an inevitable outcomes of many of the activities of online foreign language learning, it is still debatable how these competencies should be formally assessed by foreign language educators. This paper looks at approaches to the assessment of competencies in the European Higher Education Area and discusses how online foreign language learning at university level can be assessed within this new framework of learning.