New Academic research article on ‘VE and the Development of Transferable skills’

Abstract

Videoconferencing is a popular mode of communication in virtual exchange (VE) settings.

Recognising technological affordances of teletandem via videoconferencing, we developed a web-based system, L2 (second language) Learning system (L2L), for university language students’ teletandem reflections. L2L provides visualisations of conversation metrics, which students reflect on as a means of formative self-evaluation.

It was integrated into several language courses across 10 European universities and deployed for three consecutive semesters involving 926 students.

This practice report presents the main features of L2L and the student feedback received in one Irish university, with a view to support reflection in teletandem and address some inherent challenges in this VE setting.


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List of authors

Aparajita Dey-Plissonneau is an Assistant Professor in French in Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland. Her research interests are in the fields of CALL & CMC, videoconferencing-based telecollaboration, generating automatic feedback and interaction-reviewing for post-session reflection on synchronous teletandem interactions and using video for peer-review and self-review for language learners.

Inmaculada Gomez Soler is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Applied Linguistics at Dublin City University. She obtained her PhD in Linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research explores the connection between the acquisition and the pedagogy of Spanish as a foreign and heritage language with a particular focus on teacher and student agency.

Hyowon Lee, Dublin City University is an Assistant Professor at Dublin City University, Ireland. He holds PhD in Computing, and is a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA). His research interests are in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), interaction design, UI/UX design, usability and information/data visualisation.

Mingming Liu, is an Assistant Professor in School of Electronic Engineering at Dublin City University, Ireland. He obtained his PhD in Control and Optimization at Maynooth University in 2015. His research interests include machine learning, data science, algorithms, cloud computing and technology enhancing learning. He is an IEEE Senior Member.

Michael Scriney is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computing in Dublin City University. He holds a PhD in Computing. His research interests include educational technologies, assessment design, green technologies, sport science, data engineering workflows and data mining & analytics.

Alan Smeaton, is a Professor of Computing at Dublin City University, where he has been Head of School and Dean of Faculty. He is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA), Fellow of IEEE and Member of the Royal Irish Academy. His research interests include multimedia analysis and retrieval.