Page 20 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 20
a Čebron and Emma Beatriz Villegas Cunja
ing lessons and between lessons with personalised, self-paced and learner-
centred activities (Viberg & Grönlund, 2012), thus allowing a more agile,
focused and needs-centred development of communicative skills in a for-
eign language.
Such a shift of goals and objectives calls for a thorough rethinking of
teaching and learning approaches, as well as requiring development of ef-
fective methods and teaching materials for mLearning. Technology itself
plays a role in reshaping people’s preferences, perceptions, and attitudes,
leading to the idea of a methodology co-constructed in a sociotechnical
system (Viberg & Grönlund, 2012) and drawing on lessons learned from
practices developed within distance learning and computer assisted lan-
guage learning (henceforth c all), while also requiring adjustment to the
new demands, such as flexibility, portability and spontaneity (Mutiaran-
ingrum & Nugroh, 2021).
Narrowing the view to the main objective of the LanGuide project,
namely, to the design of a mobile app for language acquisition, it needs
to be observed that ‘there are apps for all aspects of language learning,
but very little consideration has been given to the pedagogical premises
that underpin the design of mobile apps’ (Brick & Cervi-Wilson, 2015,
p. 24). These apps provide a multifaceted capability that offers time and
space flexibility and adaptability that facilitate the changeable environ-
ment favoured by a variety of self-learners from students to professionals
(Ibacache, 2019), but the convenience of virtual learning and ‘the ubiquity
of mLearning options affect the manner in which one learns, as language
learning intertwines with users’ daily life activity and work’ (Kukulska-
Hulme, 2012, p. 10). Enhancing motivation of self-regulated learners still
seems to require a well-organized design, relevant content and clear scope
(Broadbent, 2017), as well as a learner and knowledge centred approach.
Successful mLearning of a foreign language should build on the skills and
knowledge of students, enabling them to reason from their own experi-
ence, while providing a structured syllabus of validated knowledge, taught
efficiently and with inventive use of concepts and methods (Sharples et
al., 2005; Elbabour & Head, 2020).
Consequently, the new medium entails also a shift in roles and respon-
ing – covers a broad range of activities for individual practice of language skills and knowl-
edge, including language courses and lessons, but also exploratory learning in urban set-
tings, collaborative and competitive language tasks, reference books and similar. eLearning
is based on a structured, formal course delivered or supported by learning materials pro-
vided on a website, it includes ca l l (Computer-Assisted Language Learning).
20
ing lessons and between lessons with personalised, self-paced and learner-
centred activities (Viberg & Grönlund, 2012), thus allowing a more agile,
focused and needs-centred development of communicative skills in a for-
eign language.
Such a shift of goals and objectives calls for a thorough rethinking of
teaching and learning approaches, as well as requiring development of ef-
fective methods and teaching materials for mLearning. Technology itself
plays a role in reshaping people’s preferences, perceptions, and attitudes,
leading to the idea of a methodology co-constructed in a sociotechnical
system (Viberg & Grönlund, 2012) and drawing on lessons learned from
practices developed within distance learning and computer assisted lan-
guage learning (henceforth c all), while also requiring adjustment to the
new demands, such as flexibility, portability and spontaneity (Mutiaran-
ingrum & Nugroh, 2021).
Narrowing the view to the main objective of the LanGuide project,
namely, to the design of a mobile app for language acquisition, it needs
to be observed that ‘there are apps for all aspects of language learning,
but very little consideration has been given to the pedagogical premises
that underpin the design of mobile apps’ (Brick & Cervi-Wilson, 2015,
p. 24). These apps provide a multifaceted capability that offers time and
space flexibility and adaptability that facilitate the changeable environ-
ment favoured by a variety of self-learners from students to professionals
(Ibacache, 2019), but the convenience of virtual learning and ‘the ubiquity
of mLearning options affect the manner in which one learns, as language
learning intertwines with users’ daily life activity and work’ (Kukulska-
Hulme, 2012, p. 10). Enhancing motivation of self-regulated learners still
seems to require a well-organized design, relevant content and clear scope
(Broadbent, 2017), as well as a learner and knowledge centred approach.
Successful mLearning of a foreign language should build on the skills and
knowledge of students, enabling them to reason from their own experi-
ence, while providing a structured syllabus of validated knowledge, taught
efficiently and with inventive use of concepts and methods (Sharples et
al., 2005; Elbabour & Head, 2020).
Consequently, the new medium entails also a shift in roles and respon-
ing – covers a broad range of activities for individual practice of language skills and knowl-
edge, including language courses and lessons, but also exploratory learning in urban set-
tings, collaborative and competitive language tasks, reference books and similar. eLearning
is based on a structured, formal course delivered or supported by learning materials pro-
vided on a website, it includes ca l l (Computer-Assisted Language Learning).
20
