The paper deals with teaching the English language in the online mode at the university level. Special attention is paid to the appropriate amount of student - teacher interaction. The author presents an online Business English course at the university level, compares the outcomes of the classroom mode and online mode of instruction, and summarizes collected student feedback. The comparison shows significant differences in learning outcomes, which is attributed to the level of involvement of the faceto- face contact between students and teachers

1. STUDENT – TEACHER INTERACTION
IN ONLINE ENGLISH COURSES
Mgr. Valéria Medárová M.B.A.
School of Management / City University of
Seattle
Bratislava, Slovakia

2. eLearning
 rapidly developing way of learning
with the application of ICT and
knowledge management tools

3. Computer Assisted Language
Learning (CALL)
- synchronous and asynchronous
- online learning
- hybrid (blended) learning
- the teacher’s role – tutor and facilitator
of independent online learning

4. Advantages of CALL
 flexible schedule
 continuously updated content
 flexible communication with the tutor
and learners from all over the world
 direct connection with the current
information on the web

5.  learner’s autonomy
 individualized pace of learning
 group interaction
 effective sharing of ideas
 increased motivation to study other
languages

6. Obstacles to CALL
 potential miscommunication
 technical difficulties
 time delays
 the feeling of isolation
 the learner’s lack of computer skills
 the learner’s lack of motivation and
time management skills

7. Assumptions:
1.) eLearning does not suit every type
of learner
2. ) a qualified teacher/tutor is
an irreplaceable facilitator of learning
online

8. Permanent learners
 design their own learning plans
 share their learning experience with
other users
 use critical thinking skills
 use blogs, wikis, podcasts
(Sanchez-Villalon et al., 2010)

9. Interactions within online
learning
content
teacherstudent

10. To achieve deep and meaningful
learning, at least one of the following
interactions must be at a high level:
 Student – Teacher
 Student – Student
 Student – Content
(Miyazoe & Anderson, 2010)

11. Learner Perception of Online
Courses
 Study of 60 university students of
blended English courses in Hong
Kong
 70 % of online vs. 30 % of in-class
interaction
 Outcome: students with higher
perceived language competence -
more comfortable with learning online

12. Online learning is more suitable for
students of higher proficiency.
Blended learning is appropriate for
others.
(Ng, Yeung & Hon, 2006)

13. Personalized learning content
 Cultural background
 Learner profiles
 Personalized and informal learning
content is more user-friendly and
effective
(Kartal, 2010)

14. Effective online learning of
foreign languages requires:
 Specific structure of the course
 Suitable teaching methodology
 More intensive tutoring – in a new way
 Adjustment to the learners groups –
their motivation, age, background, etc.

15. Online language learning sites are able
to increase the learners’ proficiency
level, so it is necessary to use the full
potential of the Internet to design
effective language learning sites.
Language learning portals should be
formal, reliable and comprehensive.
(Kartal & Uzun, 2010)

16. 4 criteria for evaluation of
language learning websites (Kartal
& Uzun) :1) General state
access through search engines, language
options, target audience, target level
2) Physical appearance
color harmony, font and legibility, visual and
audio materials
3) Contextual aids
archives, chat and forum pages, online
dictionaries, links to other websites
4) Educational state
download/upload opportunities, educational
games, pedagogical guidance, feedback,
tests

17. Content of online courses
Learning Objects
simple digital resources with
pedagogical potential
should be as small as possible so that
they can be easily reused for different
contexts
can be embedded in Virtual Learning
Environments (e.g. Moodle,
Blackboard, Web CT)
sequence of activities – 20-40 min of
learning

18. LOs should reflect the key elements of
Laurillard’s model for teaching and
learning (Watson, 2009):
Discussion
Interaction
Adaptation
Reflection

19. Blended course of English for
Academic Purposes
University of Southampton, UK
Blackboard platform
Effectiveness & satisfaction survey (2005 –
2008), 800 students
Findings:
 Easy to use
 Overall satisfaction
 Low satisfaction with provided personalized
feedback
software cannot substitute a real
tutor

20. http://www.elanguages.ac.uk/eap_toolkit.php

21. LOs in the English for Academic
Purposes Toolkit …
% of students who agree
in 2005 in 2008
are enjoyable to use 63 % 62 %
help me to understand a learning
point
70 % 71 %
provide good feedback 66 % 49 %
support my classroom learning 62 % 64 %

22. Online English courses at
VŠM
 Bc. program – online study
 5 proficiency levels (beginner to high-
intermediate, business English)
 learning goals and textbook materials
compatible with the daily study program
 platform Bulletin Board, later replaced by
Moodle
 10-week-long courses
 combination of autonomous study, online
assignments and individual Skype interviews
 LOs: online assignments, discussion groups,
video files, posted reading material, etc.

24. http://online.vsm.sk/moodle/course/view
.php?id=1283

25. Comparison of online and in-
class mode of a university
English course
SIMILARITIES:
 The same teacher
 The same learning objectives and
textbook
 The same midterm and final exams

26. DIFFERENCES:
 Way of explanation of the learning
content
 Form and frequency of interaction –
in-class lectures and discussions vs.
individual Skype interviews
 Level of control of the learning
process

27. Comparison of course grades
Midterm Exam
Grade
(in %)
Final Exam Grade
(in %)
Midterm Exam
Grade
(in %)
Final Exam Grade
(in %)
In-class group On-line group
Student 1 69 64 Student 9 71 53
Student 2 68 59 Student 10 79 58
Student 3 71 74 Student 11 70 54
Student 4 72 75 Student 12 44 34
Student 5 73 75 Student 13 47 39
Student 6 82 66 Student 14 50 55
Student 7 72 61 Student 15 64 50
Student 8 82 88 Student 16 49 0
Student 17 78 74
Student 18 52 38
GROUP AVERAGE 73.6 70.2 60.4 45.5

28. VŠM online students’
feedback
 Survey of 25 students after completing
the Business English course in March
2012 - March 2013
 Overall satisfaction – 92 % students
consider the course very efficient
 Positive comments on:
learning content, teaching techniques,
flexibility (individual schedule),
interviews via Skype, etc.

29.  Room for improvement:
technical issues,
user-friendly design,
human (face-to-face) interaction,
more practice of pronunciation,
controling role of the teacher

30. Conclusion
Efforts to incorporate KM in computer-
assisted language learning all over the
world provide various results and
various levels of satisfaction.
Successful e-Learning in language
acquisition is possible only if both the
human component and ICT are
incorporated in mutual accordance.

31. Thank you for your
attention
vmedarova@vsm.sk