Blended learning environments (BLEs) have become an indispensable part of higher education and an essential part of course delivery. Although teachers need to be active agents in facilitating students’ self-regulation and interaction, little is known to what extent such support is provided. This study investigated the use of self-regulation strategies (SRS) and interactional methods of teachers and students in BLEs. In a cross-sectional design, 171 teachers and 331 students completed a questionnaire on the use of SRS and the application of human and non-human interactional methods. Results showed that, on average, teachers and students pay little attention to SRS and do not or hardly use interactional methods. Results also showed that experienced and inexperienced teachers did not differ in their attention to SRS, although a significant difference was found between teachers with and without online teaching experience. Teachers with more online teaching experience pay more specific attention to metacognitive and management strategies. A positive relationship was also found between the extent to which teachers use both human and non-human interactional methods and the extent to which they pay attention to SRS in the online component of BLEs. Finally, there was a positive relationship between the extent to which students utilize both human and non-human interactional methods and the extent to which they apply SRS. Outcomes of this research provide insight into the design of BLEs and emphasize the importance of teachers' attention to students’ SRS and the use of interactional methods.
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This article explores ways to assess interactional performance, and reports on the use of a test format that standardizes the interlocutor’s linguistic and interactional contributions to the exchange. It describes the construction and administration of six scripted speech tasks (instruction-, advice-, and sales tasks) with pre-vocational learners (n=34), and reports on the extent to which these tasks can be used to assess L2 speakers’ interactional performance in a reliable and valid manner. The high agreement found between three independent raters on both holistic- and analytical measurements of interactional performance, indicate that this construct can be measured reliably with these tasks. Means and standard deviations demonstrate that tasks differentiate between speakers’ interactional performance. Holistic ratings of linguistic accuracy and interactional ability correlate highly between tasks that focus on different language functions, and are situated in different interactional domains. Furthermore, positive correlations are found between both holistic and analytic ratings of oral performance and vocabulary size. Positive within-task correlations between analytical ratings of specific interactional strategies and holistic ratings of overall interactional ability show that analytic ratings of Meaning Negotiation and Correcting Misinterpretation provide additional information about speakers’ interactional ability that is not captured by holistic assessment alone. It is concluded that these tasks are a useful diagnostic tool for practitioners to support their learners’ interactional abilities at a sub-skill level.
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Course materials play a vital role in the foreign language classroom. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to analyzing the activities that foster oral interactional ability in EFL course materials. For the purpose of this study, a coding scheme was designed that focuses specifically on the development of interactional ability. This was used to analyse the three most commonly used EFL course books for pre-vocational learners in The Netherlands. The analysis revealed that course books focus more on developing language knowledge than on developing the ability to use this knowledge in interaction, that interactional strategies practice is missing, and that interactional practice is limited to the personal and public context. We conclude that EFL course books lag behind current SLA theories in the practical application of activities focused on developing interactional ability. Recommendations to strengthen the link between theory and practice are made.
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