Innovation in Language Learning
Using CLIL and Wiki in Collaborative Learning.
Vladimira Froldova, Hradec Králové University (Czech Republic)
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to describe a pedagogical experiment carried out at a Czech Secondary Vocational School in Prague. In particular, it will report the learning outcomes and overall experience concerning collaborative learning through CLIL in Social Science lessons and realized through the use of Integrative Learning Technologies (ILT).
The main objective of the experiment was to enhance English communication skills, particularly functional language for academic and general classroom situations through collaborative learning. Moreover, the experiment was supposed to show the extent of students’ effort to create and use collaborative materials for their learning. First, three stages of the teaching and learning process involved in the experiment will briefly be introduced which combines three learning theories (Neo-behaviourism, Constructivism and Connectivism). In the second part, the general concept of wiki (wikispaces) will be dealt with and its practical usage for collaborative learning. The students implemented a class wiki into their home studies, where apart from learning materials given by a teacher were students’ portfolio pages and team pages. These pages were managed by individuals or teams and they served as collaborative materials for further learning or as a source for preparing for tests. In the third part, the paper will present the most frequent English functional language used by students during their collaborative activities. The final part of the paper deals with the outcomes and gives us answers to the following questions:
- Are students willing to work on collaborative materials?
- Do students use collaborative materials for their learning?
- Do students consider doing tasks on their portfolio and team pages as an important part of their learning?
- Do students think that their English communication skills are improved by working on collaborative tasks?
- Does collaborative learning improve their functional language for academic and general classroom situations?
- Do students find using wiki interesting, motivating and improving their computer skills?
