Dr. Elizabeth Murphy is with the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. In her video, "Online Language Learning: The Students’ Perspective with Teri and Aaron," she films the story of two students in grade 11 who live in Arnold’s Cove, a small town in Newfoundland.
Both Teri and Aaron go to Tricentia Academy, a small school with 360 students in grades K-12. Because there are not enough students in French class to have a teacher, the only option for Teri and Aaron was an online class through the Center for Distance Learning & Innovation (CDLI). The online class contains10 students from all over the province, and for each 14-day cycle, there are 10 days of classes, 7 online with Elluminate Live! and 3 offline with WebCT.
Interactive Tools Increase Confidence
"Using the Elluminate Live! program, we have ability to interact with all the other students and the teachers in class," explains Aaron. "You’re not actually sitting in a room with your peers, so you don’t have to feel nervous about speaking French. Our teacher will often put us in breakout rooms to talk over questions and go over subject matter. We help and evaluate each other, becoming better together."
In the beginning of a class, our teacher often shows a news clip from Radio Canada in French," continues Teri. "We always speak French when we ask and answer questions. You don’t realize how much French you are learning online. When you get to a situation where you have to speak French and it’s a lot easier than it was before, it’s pleasantly surprising when you learn how much you actually know."
Student-centered Environment Enhances Learning
"We were both a little leery of learning online because we didn’t know how it would be not being able to see teachers and classmates," Aaron says. "We thought it would be difficult to use computer in this way. It turned out that it’s even easier than learning in a classroom. It has many advantages. It wasn’t very difficult at all to make the change."
According to Teri and Aaron, there are a few skills you need for an online class, including organization, motivation, and independence. "Learning online is faster because you not as distracted as in the face-to-face classroom," concludes Teri. "It’s very student centered. Learning French online is great. It’s one of the best French classes we’ve ever had. We’ve learned a lot this year."
