Research spaces

- Do new conceptions of learning spaces involve newspaces for research?

Blended personal-formal spaces call for new research topics

Abstract

As more online language courses with synchronous oral components are currently offered, the issue of managing this blended learning space, formal yet in many aspects personal, becomes essentially challenging. Offering certain robust ways of overcoming distance, the oral synchronous multi-modal channel of communicationpresents unique challenges related to its nature with teacher and student attention requiring high-level concentration, intensive involvement, and well-developed skills to distribute attention successfully (Meskill& Anthony, 2014).

Being in formal learning space, students and teachers are demanded to simultaneously draw their attention to real-time verbal communication, real-time interactive visual stimuli, and synchronous text communication (Meskill& Anthony, 2015). Being at the same time in their personal learning space separated from the rest of the class by distance, live lesson participants have an opportunity to operate immediately available outside resources and devices. Continuing the previously conducted research (Meskill& Anthony, 2014), this study further explores and examines instructional and non-instructional strategies employed by online students and instructors of Russian during their real-time sessions in order to conquer the challenges of oral synchronous modes of communication.

Archives of audiographic conferencing lessons, interviews with participants, and questionnaire data indicate that these strategies analyzed in the context of four dimensions: 1) Design, 2) Pluralism, 3) Synesthesia, and 4) Pedagogy (Cope&Kalantzis, 2009) proved to be successful.

References:

Cope, B., &Kalantzis, M. (2009). Ubiquitous learning: an agenda for educational transformation. In B. Cope, & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), Ubiquitous Learning (pp. 3–14). USA: University of Illinois.

Meskill, C., & Anthony N. (2015).Teaching Languages Online.2nd edition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Meskill, C., & Anthony, N. (2014).Synchronous Polyfocality in New Media/New Learning: Online Russian Educators' Instructional Strategies.System, 42, 177-188.