Enhancing Learner Autonomy and Motivation by Learners In Front Teaching (LIFT) with Web 2.0 Applications

Raymond Pai

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language CenterMay 4, 2014

53-64 week Basic Chinese Program 6+ class hours / day, 5 days / week Defense Language Proficiency Test based on the

Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) testing scale.  Goals: 2+ in Listening, 2+ in Reading and 2 in speaking,

according to the ILR scale.

It was started in December 2008 for all language courses at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, under the direction of the Assistant Commandant, Air Force Col. William Bare.

“The program puts language students in the driver’s seat, giving concrete expression to DLIFLC’s commitment to learner-centered classes.”

“The purpose is to motivate students by having student leaders conduct learning activities for the class.”

“The bottom line is to get our students more engaged in the learning process and to help develop stronger leadership qualities”. (Bond, 2009)

Leaders In Front Teaching (LIFT)

• Facilitate • Be non-intrusive• Give options• Give feedback afterwards

Autonomy is about people taking more control over their lives - individually and collectively. Autonomy in learning is about people taking more control over their learning in classrooms and outside them and autonomy in language learning about people taking more control over the purposes for which they learn languages and the ways in which they learn them.

(Benson, 2006)

Competence - control of the outcome and experience of mastery

Relatedness - the universal want to interact, be connected to, and experience caring for others

Autonomy - the universal urge to be causal agents of one's own life and act in harmony with one's integrated self

•Tasks must be within one's ability, but challenging enough to require full attention.•Attention must be centered on a limited field.•One must lose what is usually referred to as "self-consciousness.”•One must feel in control of both his actions and his environment.•Demands for action must be clear and non-contradictory and must be followed by clear, unambiguous feedback.

思想要放鬆思想要放鬆RelaxationRelaxation

精神要集中精神要集中ConcentrationConcentration

1. Google2. Facebook 3. Yahoo! 4. YouTube 5. Live 6. Wikipedia 7. Blogger.com 8. Microsoft Network (MSN) 9. Myspace 10.Twitter

The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators (prosumers) of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (consumers) are limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them.

•Socialization•Collaboration

•Creativity •Authenticity

•Sharing

• User-generated content• Learning Artifacts: Students as “prosumers”• Students take charge• Lasting value for real world audience • Less work for teachers

learner involvement – engaging learners to share responsibility for the learning process (the affective and the metacognitive dimensions);

learner reflection – helping learners to think critically when they plan, monitor and evaluate their learning (the metacognitive dimensions);

appropriate target language use – using the target language as the principal medium of language learning (the communicative and the metacognitive dimensions).

(Little, 1998)

•Free and user-friendly•Clear and specific instructions•Simple and focused goals•Authentic and meaningful contexts•Learning first, technology second•Role of coach/facilitator•Positive feedback•Usefulness for future reference

kit.pai@dliflc.edu