Motivating learners of English as a foreign language through meaningful communication in a real world context

 Communication can be considered as the very essence of teaching and learning (Cooper and Simonds, 1999) and as such, it influences teachers and learners. Considering that the curriculum design for the provincia de Buenos Aires supports a task-based communicative approach, it becomes of utmost importance to analyse the results and effects of implementing a digital exchange program, as Global Scholars, which fosters communication between international peers into the national curriculum. According to Tiven et al. (2020), the Far From Remote report establishes that “students enthusiastically engaged with a hybrid digital learning experience, one that connected them to their communities and to one another in an international online classroom” (p.5). These findings result compelling and demand for further actions in order to evaluate the program implications for the classroom with the intention of encouraging and motivating learners, improving communication in English as a foreign language in a real world context.

Consequently, this study intends to explore this field within three primary state run schools in the city of Buenos Aires. The following questions will be asked throughout the research:

1.     How can the implementation of a program for communication between international peers help learners of English as a Foreign Language improve their communication skills?

2.     To what extent can learners of English as a Foreign Language of 7^th grade from a public primary school in the city of Buenos Aires improve their communication skills while they participate in an international communication program with peers of a similar age?

The objective of this paper is to assess the benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based communication in English so that a digital exchange program may be implemented at schools in order to motivate learners to improve their communicative skills.

Annotated bibliographies

Tiven, M., & Fuchs, E. (with Bazari, A., & MacQuarrie, A.). (2018). Evaluating Global Digital Education: Student Outcomes Framework. Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Evaluating-Global-Digital-Education-Student-Outcomes-Framework.pdf

Tiven et al. (2018) introduce the work of Global Cities, Inc., which is a program of Bloomberg Philanthropies that developed and runs the digital exchange program Global Scholars. In order to define what students should learn through this program, Global Cities implemented a system to identify students’ outcomes. These outcomes and a set of global indicators of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours (Tiven et al., 2018) constitute a framework to measure impact on student global learning. Global Cities applies the learning outcomes to design formal evaluations to evidence the value of the program.

Tiven, M., Fuchs, E., Riegle-Crumb, C., Bazari, A., & Wilhelm, M. (2020). Far from remote: Survey evidence of student learning in digital classrooms. Bloomberg Philanthropies. https://www.globalcities.org/ffr

            The report aims to provide a clear assessment of students’ competencies in order to demonstrate how the implementation of Global Scholars, the digital exchange program under analysis, can help students improve their digital literacy, language communication, self-efficacy, academic engagement and critical thinking. These are defined as learning outcomes and they have been articulated to encompass and represent global competency. By means of a survey, Tiven et al. (2020) measure program’s impact using specific indicators of learning outcomes, assessing confidence and curiosity.

References

Cooper, P. J. & Simonds, Sheri. (1999). Small group communication. In P.Smith, K. Bowers, & L. Scott (Eds.), Communication for the classroom teacher (pp.173-191). Allyn and Bacon.

Tiven, M., & Fuchs, E. (with Bazari, A., & MacQuarrie, A.). (2018). Evaluating Global Digital Education: Student Outcomes Framework. Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Evaluating-Global-Digital-Education-Student-Outcomes-Framework.pdf 

Tiven, M., Fuchs, E., Riegle-Crumb, C., Bazari, A., & Wilhelm, M. (2020). Far from remote: Survey evidence of student learning in digital classrooms. Bloomberg Philanthropies. https://www.globalcities.org/ffr