Innovation in Language Learning

Given the importance of improving speaking fluency in second language students, a tandem project was carried out by the Language Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (Germany) and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy). The goals aimed at also included the development of cross-cultural competence and reading skills, as the topics to be discussed during the online sessions were first tackled by reading texts which were easily accessible on the Moodle platform of the University of Mainz. Such topics were related to the recent history of Germany and Italy, the relationship between these countries and the bridging of the cultural divide through dialogue and mutual understanding. Each online session was centred on a particular aspect of the subject matter and comprehended two phases: 1. a plenum discussion with all participants in the same virtual room, and 2. small group discussions taking place simultaneously in separate breakout rooms. As a general rule, Italian-speaking learners of German had to speak German and vice-versa. The virtual meeting of students and teachers from Mainz and Parma was made possible by Adobe Connect, providing learners the opportunity of an authentic language experience. The presentation will focus on the ways used to make this tandem learning more efficient compared to traditional tandem programs, where the role of the teacher is generally limited to the supply of the contact data and, possibly, the final assessment/evaluation of the objectives achieved. In our case, instead of just assigning tasks to be executed by students on their own, we teachers kept an eye on the entire learning process, providing our guidance whenever necessary, though in a non-intrusive manner, so as to foster students’ autonomy in a rather informal learning environment. Our teaching role thus shifted to that of moderators and facilitators planning, coordinating and managing the learning experience step by step, i.e. checking all the time that everything was moving along as expected. The presentation will investigate this new role, which differs greatly from instructing students in person or lecturing them in a sort of one-way communication. Teaching (or better to say moderating) together an interactive community of international students also means learning to interact with other teaching staff and figuring out the best strategies to use the tool chosen. While analysing the strengths and weaknesses of our experience, we will give you some tips and tricks on how to profit the most from Adobe Connect features for effective language learning through web conferencing in higher education.