Language Learning Spaces Research Articles

Computer-mediated language learning: Making meaning in multimodal virtual learning spaces

This article argues that when using Internet-based computer-mediated communication technologies for language teaching and learning (e.g. email, internet relay chat, or, more recently, instant messaging and audio-conferencing), it is not sufficient to see the new learning spaces as replicates of conventional face-to-face settings. We suggest that it may be useful to consider how meaning is made using the modes and media available in electronic environments. This approach offers a new framework for the investigation of both the limitations and the possibilities of the new information and communication media and the modes they afford. It incorporates notions of design, authorship and dissemination, and the increasing importance of modes other than writing in virtual language learning spaces and can thus also contribute to an enhanced understanding of the phenomenon of new literacies. In this article we seek to demonstrate how this framework can inform the development of language learning and teaching in Internet-based environments, using an audio-graphic conferencing application as an example. We examine some of the demands made on tutors and learners and consider ways of meeting the arising pedagogical challenges.

Can ICT reduce social exclusion? The case of an adults' English language learning programme

Strong claims are made for ICT‐based lifelong learning as an effective way of reducing the exclusion of various groups in society, yet, there is very little research to support these claims. Empirical research is needed, including qualitative studies of the experiences of socially excluded learners using ICT. This article reports the findings of such a study in relation to learners from one socially excluded group, adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, who are disproportionately deprived and often excluded by language. The article discusses the study of the experiences and perceptions of adults learning English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) through ICT in seven different learning centres in England. The findings show that technology is insufficient to overcome existing inequalities in access to learning, and to engage learners who would not otherwise undertake formal learning, but ICT‐based learning can reduce some aspects of social exclusion in terms of encouraging minority ethnic group learners to speak more within the host community. ICT‐based learning offers a space for language learning and practice, which is often absent in traditional ESOL classrooms and in the every day lives of these excluded groups. Learning is a social practice in which the level of commitment of tutors to encouraging the use of these media and creating a safe and private space for learning affects the range of learning activities with which learners engage and the impact of these on their everyday use of English.