Authors:
Pablo Ortega Gil
and
Francisco Arcos García
Affiliation:
Arts Faculty, University of Alicante, Spain
Keyword(s):
Spanish language learners, Immigration, Blended learning, Learning Management System, Moodle, Interaction.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Blended Learning
;
Computer-Aided Assessment
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
Abstract:
Children of immigrant families with little or no knowledge of Spanish are referred to as Spanish language learners (SLL). During their first year in Spain, they spend some hours in pullout groups for learning the language, but many of them do not develop academic Spanish even after four or five years of schooling. As a supplement to those pullout groups and special programs, interactive tasks (integrated in a Learning Management System LMS such as Moodle) can greatly improve the linguistic abilities of SLLs for a number of reasons. First, these tasks often include recordings of academic Spanish. Second, some of these tasks involve working cooperatively with several native speakers. Finally, interactive tasks within an LMS can be done outside the limited framework of school time because they are open and ready to be used 24/365 days a year. The article provides details of an LMS for SLLs being actually used at a secondary school. The school had 15 SLL students enrolled in an experime
ntal project involving the LMS while another group of 15 SLL students went on doing the traditional pullout groups. The results show that those in the first group have learnt faster and deeper than those in the second one.
(More)