University of Padova, Italy, 17-19th April 2008
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has taken on increasingly diverse forms,
from e-mail, chat and online forums to social software (web 2.0) such as
blogs, wikis and virtual worlds, from podcasts to desktop audio and video
conferencing. These new forms of communication are becoming an integral
part of modern life and are also finding their place in the language classroom,
offering new modes of communication for engaging learners in authentic
language learning experiences. It has been reported that through the use
of CMC language learners can develop not only language skills but also
intercultural communicative competence, lifelong learning skills and digital
literacies, key competences for becoming active participants of the Information
Society.
But to what extent does the adoption of CMC in language learning environments
promote these competences and in what circumstances? What developments have
been made in research into CMC and language learning?
The European Commission has proposed that 2008 be the European Year of Intercultural
Dialogue because intercultural dialogue needs to become a lasting and visible
priority for the European Union, Europeans need to acquire “the knowledge
and aptitudes to enable them to deal with a more open and more complex environment”.
By 2010, Europe is supposed to become “the most competitive and the
most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world” though digital illiteracy
is still reported to be a persistent feature of Europe’s digital divide.
Within this European context, and in order to promote intercultural dialogue
and digital literacy in language learning contexts, the Language Centre of
the University of Padova and Eurocall’s Special Interest Group in CMC
propose this Eurocall Regional Event for language educators on the theme
of CMC and language learning.
This seminar seeks to address some of these issues by bringing together practitioners
from European educational contexts:
- to share examples of good practice in the use of CMC for language learning and intercultural learning in schools and universities
- to present methodological approaches to and developments in research on CMC and language learning
- to engage in discussions about applications of CMC in language teaching/learning and raise awareness of the issues involved
- to offer hands-on experience of different types of CMC technologies through practical workshops
- to provide opportunities to network and develop proposals for future research and collaboration
Guest speaker: Robert O’Dowd
University of Leon, Spain
http://www3.unileon.es/personal/wwdfmrod/