The Use Of Skype Education Essay

The Use Of Skype Education EssayThe rapid proceeds and interest of college schoolchilds in Computer Mediated communication and social media has impacted the se sneakd spoken voice communication encyclopaedism and t from each aceing process. This study is a reflection of a pedagogic perplex that attempts to analyze the physical exercise of Skype as a contemporary Communication tool in regards to the attitudes of students in go overedness a unlike language when moveing with autochthonal speakers and engage in discourse. The instrumentalists argon Spanish opposed language students at Fordham University in juvenile York City and side of meat foreign language speakers at a Jesuit University in Bogot, Colombia. Students were paired up and were undeniable to set up online conference run acrosss.The takingss of this pilot project suggest that students felt to a bullyer extent evoke to engage in conversation with native speakers and exchange personal and academic i nformation as surface as a nonher(prenominal) aspects of their gardening using the tar live language rather than completing language inquiry lab activities or writing compositions.Key words Computer mediated communication, Skype, socio-ethnical competency, synchronous communicationEl basso continuo inters y la rpida evolucin de la comunicacin a travs de la tecnologa y las redes sociales en estudiantes universitarios han transformado el proceso de enseanza y aprendizaje de los idiomas extranjeros. Este estudio es una reflexin de una experiencia pedaggica que busca analizar el uso de Skype como una herramienta de comunicacin sincrnica en cuanto a las actitudes de los estudiantes en el proceso de aprendizaje de un idioma extranjero con la interaccin de estudiantes que son hablantes nativos para participar activamente en conversaci unitarys. Los participantes de este proyecto son estudiantes de espaol como idioma extranjero en Fordham University en la Ciudad de Nueva York y estudia ntes de ingls como idioma extranjero en una universidad jesuita en la ciudad de Bogot, Colombia. Los estudiantes fueron emparejados con el propsito de organizar sesi champions en lnea y hablar usando el idioma que estn aprendiendo.Los resultados de este proyecto piloto indi gouge que los estudiantes se sintieron more(prenominal) thanos ms interesados en conversar con hablantes nativos para intercambiar informacin personal, acadmica y cultural haciendo uso del idioma que estn aprendiendo en lugar de hacer ejercicios y escribir composiciones en el laboratorio de idiomas.Palabras clave comunicacin a travs de la tecnologa, Comunicacin Sincrnica, Competencias Socio Culturales, SkypeIntroductionAs a young college language instructor, I find myself always trying to countenance my students with opportunities in which they can learn a real number purpose of using L2 (foreign language) outside the conventional tierroom where action is often lessen to their peers and instructor. The id ea of this project was to encourage my students to speak via Skype with other college Spanish native speakers with like-minded interests - conductstyle, culture, learning, and food -through the use of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC). The idea of this project started in one of my graduate courses at Fordham University when I had to check over a sample of Jesuit undergrad students and their likelihood to interact with their surrounding community. Fordham Universitys main campus is set(p) in the Bronx. The New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo surround the campus. However, Fordhams main campus is located in a community where there is a large low income Hispanic and African American population whereas the demographics at Fordham is to the highest degreely a white upper middle mannikin student organic structure. The survey aimed to understand how much interaction existed amid these devil communities Fordham students and the surrounding community. Based on the results of the survey, most of the students prefer to spend their supernumerary era either on campus or in Manhattan. I alike realized that specifically my Spanish students would not income tax return advantage of the Hispanic population to practice their Spanish skills as they felt side of meat would be an easier way to top. Consequently, I popular opinion that as a language instructor, I would need to interpret my students with a setting in which they feel comfort commensurate and make use of the target language specifically with native speakers who arrest similar interests or experience similar learning conditions.This article summarizes a pedagogical experience with the purpose of sharing with other language colleagues how I started and structured the project and it also reflects upon its outcomes. belles-lettres ReviewComputer Mediated Communication (CMC)CMC is defined as the process of creating, exchanging, and perceiving information via networked telecommunications systems facilitating the encoding, transmitting, and decoding of messages (Romiszowski Mason, n.d.). CMC was the result of linking opposite computers and having people interact by sharing messages and data. CMC spread rapidly and it allowed people from geographically dispersed locations to communicate replacing traveling and Face-to-Face (FtF) meetings with more efficient ways to instantly communicate. Different studies fetch shown that FtF gatherings give speakers with higher positions or power in whatsoever organization a larger mess of speech clock time opus CMC meetings offer an equal share of the meeting participation (Walther, 1996.) juvenile(prenominal) studies, on the contrary, suggests that CMC does not contribute to active participation because it is assumed that in some CMC discussions a few members look out over the floor and the rest of the members become lurkers or passive recipients. both offline and online discussions provoke passive recipients this implies th at CMC does not reprove active participation and learning (Romiszowski Mason, n.d.).Allowing students to interact with others considering their mutual interests and giving them the freedom to make their own choices when learning a foreign language is essential to motivate them. Bastidas (2002) proposes integrative and instrumental motivation affecting foreign language learners. On one hand, integrative motivation suggests the interest of learners in the community and culture that involves the s language. Instrumental motivation, on the other hand, refers to the specific goals of the students. Bastidas also shows the communicative need to use any foreign language as an aspect affecting learners motivation. He explains that many language students feel demotivated to learn a foreign language because they think the L2 is neither important nor profitable for them. Additionally, more than a real spirit experience, I wanted this project to be an exposure to the target language with na tive speakers. Fordham University is located in a highly populated Hispanic community in the Bronx. Unfortunately, many Fordham students do not military issue advantage of this opportunity to practice Spanish with native speakers. Noam Chomskys innatist theory (Lightbown Spada, 1993) suggests that after that critical period of human beings to learn a second language, remark exposure is essential to gain L2 proficiency. For this reason, a project including input exposure with native speakers would stimulate students interest in engaging in conversations using the target language.Synchronous and Asynchronous CommunicationThe continuous growth of Internet-based communication and college students interest in social media and networking seems to have a greater impact in the way they interact with others nowadays. These types of communication can be Synchronous or Asynchronous. Synchronous Communication or real-time communication refers to face-to-face discussions among people, wherea s Asynchronous Communication (delayed communication) suggests a evidentiary time delay among receiving and sending messages (Romiszowski Mason, n.d.). Hence, the inclusion of a computer-based activity and synchronous communication in my instruction was necessary in order to encourage and engage my students in the L2 learning process. I deal that real time communication would allow learners to provide instant feedback to each other, to emotionally bond, and to be spontaneous. consort to Celce-Murcia (2001), the use of media in language classes only brings the outside world to the classroom and makes the learning process more exciting and significant. Nevertheless, the only purpose of this project was not the improvement of L2 speaking proficiency but it also aimed to raise awareness in students well-nigh other cultures. In other words, I wanted to get ahead and instill values of inclusion, tolerance, and diversity as a principle of life in this globalized world. Teaching cultu re in a language class results in better communicators of L2. Culture is understood as body language, gestures, concepts of time, traditions, and expressions of friendliness. Consequently, linguistic proficiency is not enough for a second language learner social cultural competence is fundamental for a more proficient and effective L2 speaker. Hymes (1996)1also stresses the importance of socio cultural competence by saying that an individual who is not aware of the letness norms accepted in a unyielding community is likely to be placed in a position of inequality.Similar ProjectsOther instructors and universities have implemented and explored a similar project, like the one I proposed at Fordham University, with positive results. Dickens (2009) divided up an experience of two classes (one from the US and the other from Italy) in which students were initially paired up and required to interact with their partners discussing astir(predicate) divergent aspects of their life and cl asses topics using Twitter. After a couple of months the instructors decided that it would be appropriate to have them interact on video chat using Skype. Dickens report about the experience is positive. Students were able to communicate in the target language and to simultaneously multitask (surf on Facebook, share videos on YouTube, Google information, etc.) Alas, most of the session was held in the students native language. In a different experiment, Carney (2008) started a project in which an side class interacted with a Japanese class through the use of blogs, wikis, Skype text, voice, and video chat and the exchange of home-cured DVDs movies. Skype sessions in general were set up so that four English class students talk with one Japanese student. Each English class student had to prepare different questions to ask their Japanese partner. about of the Japanese students were not able to speak due to the escape of web cams and computers. In general, this was a great experience for these students. The author recognizes the importance of CMC and its impact in foreign language classes.Project Objectives at that place were three major objectives identified at the beginning of this pilot project which allow serve as an opinion of the achieved goalsProvide students with a length in which they can practice their listening and speaking skills in the L2 with native speakers by means of interactive and contextualized conversations online.Encourage students to learn from their partners culture, country, and traditions.Give the students the opportunity to interact in real life situations using the target language.Participating InstitutionsThe two participating institutions are private higher education universities under the Cura Personalis (care of the other) philosophy and Jesuit Tradition.Fordham University is the Jesuit University in New York City. Fordhams Department of styles and Literatures requires undergraduate students to take up to five levels of a fo reign language aiming to develop the linguistic proficiency and cultural competence of Fordham students.The Colombian University in Bogota is a Jesuit University offering its community with quality Catholic education. The Department of Languages offers an undergraduate program qualifying its students to become language teachers.ParticipantsA total of 50 students participated in this project. The participants are students from Fordham University (25 students) and from a Jesuit University in Bogota, Colombia (25 students.)Fordham University students are English native speakers learning Spanish in high novice level courses. Students in Colombia are Spanish native speakers in intermediate English courses. It is important to polish off that Fordham students are studying Spanish (or any foreign language offered at the Department) as a mandatary language course during five (5) academic semesters. Some of them might want to minor in this language. The students at the Colombian university are future language teachers who are majoring in English. Fordham students age in average is 19 years old whereas their online partners age in Colombia raged between 20 to 45 years old. The technological skills of the students were not considered when implementing this project.Pedagogical ProposalThis pedagogical experience attempts to determine if there is any relationship between the death penalty of Internet-based Synchronous Communication and the interest of foreign language students and native speakers to engage in conversation and learn about their culture.In order to start this project, a written proposal was submitted to the soften of the Fordhams Department of Languages and Literatures and the Spanish Language Coordinator. In this document, objectives, description, proposed activities, projected timeline, proposed partners, and their responsibilities of the whole project were specified. The Chair at Fordham University had two important concerns about this initiative 1. sa fety of students and 2. feasibility of the project. With the support of the Faculty Technology Center at Fordham University, I was able to persuade the Chair that there were no risks associated with the use of Skype for educational purposes and that its viability was directly related to the collaboration of the other university and the participation of the students. I should note that at Fordham University, foreign language students are required to attend the language research lab two hours every week. For that reason, I decided to merge this project within the laboratory activities grade. As part of the curriculum at the Department of Modern Languages, language students are required to go to the language laboratory one hour a week. During this time (students are free to decide when to go to the laboratory from Monday to Saturday in a specific schedule) students listen to the audio section of their workbook as well as they grapple different grammar exercises on line as part of the ir course evaluation. Roger Goodson (2005) states that some faculty members and administrators are normally resistant to include technology in their instruction because of time constraints, their demanding academic workload, drop of training, and insufficient research proving the effectiveness of E-learning. It is common to see some institutions still reluctant to explore technological changes in instruction, as it was the example of San Jose State University (SJSU.) The Associate Vice-President of San Jose State University proposed to ban Skype at the University implying that Skype might infect the institutions computers with viruses and that Skype might upset students and professors in the classrooms. virtuoso faculty member expressed his concern and cal conduct the institution luddite about this issue and explained the reasons wherefore Skype should not be banned 1. Skype allows communicating at no cost with other colleagues around the world, 2. There are many international s tudents who might use Skype to communicate with other students, and 3. Foreign Language instructors have started to use Skype to have their students communicate with other students who are native speakers of the language they are learning Shaw (2006.)When the Chair of the Department at Fordham approved this pilot project, I immediately contacted different universities in Colombia. However, I ideal that it would be a good idea to work with other university under the same Jesuit philosophy. Fortunately, a Jesuit University in Bogota, Colombia responded with great interest and eagerness in starting the project as curtly as possible. The Chair of the Department of Modern Languages in Colombia designated his English Speaking Advanced class to take part in this linguistic experiment. The groups were not chosen based on any specific criteria. My two Spanish courses would participate in this project. At the Jesuit University in Colombia, the Chair chose that specific class because he was the professor in charge and had asked his students about their interest in partaking in this initiative, which had a positive answer by the students. I clarified that this was intended to be a pilot project, which if it were to result with positive outcomes could be institutionalized by Fordhams Department, or at least it would encourage other instructors interested in creating a similar online community with their students. Community Development in general refers to the notion of people living sloshed by to each other, face-to-face interactions, companionship, and support at different levels (Wellman, 1999.) However, in online communities the lack of physical location, verbal, and signed cues implies impersonal relationships not able to build a community. However, other studies suggest that online communities can be reinforced if participants have similar interests regardless their physical location they might find as an obstacle to communicate Face-to-Face (Romiszowski Maso n, n.d.).Once the project was presented and approved by the two universities, it was necessary to establish a fool set of stages and assigned responsibilities to each instructor in order to launch this initiative. gameboard 1 describes the different stages that were considered.TaskObservationsPerson in chargeOutlining responsibilitiesA list of responsibilities was outlined and shared to students, professors, and administrators.Instructor at Fordham University.Pairing up studentsIt was easier for the instructor in Colombia to pair the students as he had more students in his class than I did in with my two classes.Instructor at the Colombian University.Choosing topics for each sessionBoth instructors agree that each session should focus on content, culture, and grammatical structures, which would reinforce the topics, learned in classroom.Both instructors. circumstance up a chronogramConsidering that the end of the semester was coming soon for both universities, it was important to use the time wisely.Both instructors.Table 1. Stages of the ProjectThe first step was to inform all the participants (instructors, students, and administrators) about their responsibilities regarding this project as shown in Table 2.InstructorsPair up students based on their proficiency levelMonitor that students are care their Skype meetingMake sure that students are respectful with their peers timeRemind students to be punctual conclude the topics the students will be discussingCommunicate with the other instructors if there are doubts or suggestionsProvide a space for the students with the necessary technology to access to SkypeStudentsBe punctualSpeak only the language they are required to speak during the session.Prepare enough questions to carry out the conversation.Submit a screen shot of their Skype conversation in order to confirm that they actually had a conversation with their assigned partner and the required time for each sessionAdministratorsEstablish the partnership b etween the two universitiesAttend the on line meeting in December to analyze the effectiveness of the projectTable 2. Participants ResponsibilitiesParticipants received an email with their respective responsibilities. Consequently, a list of Fordham students was sent to my colleague in Colombia. He was in charge of pairing up his students with mine. His class was considerably bigger (in terms of number of students) compared to my two classes together at Fordham. There were not any specific criteria when pairing up the students it was just a simple matching exercise from two rosters. Then, each student received an email with a list in which they would find their matches for the fours sessions. The list included label and emails. The final stage of the project required each instructor to choose the topics. It was the responsibility of each professor to decide the topics students would be discussing in every session. Each session was expected to last approximately 15 to 20 minutes an d it was expected to be conducted by students as follows use of the target language antecedently determined (English or Spanish), personal introductions (as every session they were paired up with different partners), discussion of a previously determined topic. The topics varying from academic structure, personal interests, gastronomy, etc. were carefully selected so that students have a wide exposure to new vocabulary, expressions, and especially culture. The sessions were organized as shown in Table 3.SessionLanguageTopicIn chargeOneSpanishExchange personal information (names, hobbies, favorite food, sports they practice) alike get to know about each other. Understand how easy or difficult is to learn English or Spanish.FordhamTwoEnglish liken academic structures from their schools and the differences of educational system.University in ColombiaThreeSpanishCompare lifestyle, culture, gastronomy, and currencies.FordhamFourEnglishUnderstand how languages are taught in the US from elementary school through the university.University in ColombiaTable 3. Organization of the SessionsStudents were required to prepare questions and organize their ideas in order to have a meaningful conversation during the avocation week. Furthermore, each Fordham student was required to snap a screenshot of their Skype conversation records as a proof that they did Skype with their assigned partners. All the conversations were set up by each student at different times and days (within a week period) this with the purpose of giving students the opportunity to organize their crabbed time and also to give students a sense of belonging to the project.One important aspect to mention is that the administrators did not ever set up a meeting to discuss the outcomes or implications of the project due to the lack of time. When the project was over the university in Colombia was already in winter break.FindingsIn this section, the advantages and weaknesses during the completion of the proj ect will be described. In addition, I will mention the opinions and thoughts of 18 participant students who were surveyed after the project was finished. kickoff the project was somehow challenging due to the lack of time and the resistance of the administrators to approve the project. Additionally, the communication between the two universities was slow. As it was previously mentioned, each student was randomly paired up with another one from the other university. In order to set up their online meetings they emailed each other. Students reported that their partner did not respond their emails in a timely fashion or kept postponing the meeting, and some others never got an answer from their partner. One student said I thought it was very interesting and cool to learn about the life of a complete stranger Sometimes communication was difficult but it was a good experience. This queer a big part of the students because it did not allow them to ever experience a conversation My stude nt never answered my emails so we were not able to talk via Skype. A student added. Sometimes there were problems related to technological issues and Internet connection, which prevented students to have voice conversations. Nonetheless, students opted to chat instead. A great part of participants described their Skyping go through as interesting and fun. In their own words they said I found it extremely useful and fun. It was very interesting to speak with my partner and I believe that she and I will probably go by speaking even though the assignment has finished. I would definitely do it again and hope I have the chance to in the future. Another student added I did enjoy interacting with a student from another country. I found it relatively easy to understand her but harder to express my own ideas. No intimacy the skill level or level of success, I think it is always helpful though to get practice speaking with someone who knows the language so well. Each session was supposed to last between 15 to 20 minutes. However, most of the sessions ended up exceeding this time limit because they truly enjoyed conversing with their peers. Other students thought it was rude to conclude a conversation in only 15 minutes and they allowed more time to this activity even if they were only text chatting. Only one student requested to be given a different Skype partner. One of them was more than 20 years older than the other participant creating an uncomfortable environment in the younger student. Based on the student at Fordham, her Skype partner do her feel uncomfortable as in their first email that they had exchanged, the student in Colombia had expressed that he had physical issues that prevented him of speaking. He was asking to have someone else participate in the sessions. The student at Fordham thought it was not a good idea and as a Fordham professor I am not allowed to ask her to do something when she has expressed that it makes her feel uncomfortable. Therefor e a new Skype partner was assigned to her. throughout the development of the project some students, who were able to set up their online meetings, expressed during class that they were bonding while many others felt discouraged because they never had the opportunity to speak.It is important to note that this pilot project has led to a possible partnership between Fordham University and AUSJAL (Asociacin de Universidades Confiadas a la Compaa de Jess en Amrica Latina), which is an Association of Jesuit Universities in Latin America. A representative from AUSJAL has contacted me with the purpose to start a possible project in which these types of online environments would benefit students from various Jesuit universities in South America and the united States.Opinions of the ParticipantsA number of 18 participants in this project completed an online survey on Survey potter around (www.surveymonkey.com) about three different aspects regarding the development of the project as shown i n Table 4 and Table 5. The third aspect was an open-ended question in order to understand the opinions of the students and their likelihood to participate again in a future similar project. Surveymonkey.com provides users with free web-based surveys. I chose this website because the website helps you to create any type of survey with predetermined formats. Additionally, Surveymonkey.com does not require a software installation, everything is self-explanatory and most importantly the basic features are free.Based on the answers from Table 4, it can be inferred that after different Skype sessions, students mostly learned about their partners culture regarding personal information, similar interests, and education. The results suggest that students in general were not able to exchange as much information as expected about their regions food, their schools academic structure, and quality of life in their countries.1. Which of the following aspects do you think Skype sessions helped you learn about your partners culture?Completely disagreeSomehow disagree reconcileSomehow agreeCompletely agreeFood27,3%27,3%9,1%27,3%9,1%Education0,0%8,3%33,3%25,0%33,3%Academic Structure16,7%8,3%33,3%33,3%8,3%Personal info8,3%0,0%25,0%8,3%58,3%Similar Interests0,0%0,0%41,7%33,3%25,0%Quality of Life8,3%25,0%41,7%16,7%8,3%Table 4. Cultural AppreciationAccording to Table 5, students seemed to have a greater difficulty trying to set up a Skype session with their partners than expressing their ideas and carrying out spontaneous conversations. Additionally, participants also believed that understanding their partners ideas was challenging.2. Considering that your Skype partners were college students with similar interests but they were people you did not know, to what degree was it easy or difficult to interact with them using the language you are learning?Very easyEasy bafflingVery DifficultUnderstand your partners ideas25,0%16,7%50,0%8,3%Set up a Skype session16,7%8,3%33,3%41,7%Carry ou t a spontaneous conversation25,0%25,0%16,7%33,3%Express your ideas8,3%33,3%25,0%33,3%Table 5. Degree of Difficulty in CommunicationFinally, based on the surveyed student responses, it can be inferred that most of the participants thought that the Skype Project with a foreign country did allow them to learn something new about another culture. Many students were surprised that, different from the US, the majority of Colombian college students live with their parents when they attend college. Also, students at Javeriana University do not use their institutional email account as frequently as many American college students do. In general, participants felt that the project was much more fun than going to the language laboratory and writing compositions. Although, they expressed that communication was somehow difficult due to technological inconveniences (e.g. Internet connection, time flexibility, lack of web cam), participants acknowledged the importance of getting to know people from other countries who are native speakers. close to of the participants agreed that setting up meetings was by far the most tedious part of the project because of their busy schedule, their lack of interest of some participants, and the fact that they were talking to, in literal words, a complete stranger. In addition, the idea to participate in a similar project seems to be a viable one for many of them because they think these types of experiences forced them out of their comfort zone. Unfortunately, some other students were not able to provide any feedback because they were never able to speak with their Skype partner because they never got a response to set up a meeting.Conclusions and ImplicationsThe idea of this pilot project between Fordham University and the Jesuit University in Colombia was to understand if Internet-based Synchronous Communication would motivate