Reflections on Language Learning is at once an all-embracing title for a Festschrift to honour Antonieta Celani and an organised set of four major themes. 'Reflections', here, is no mere synonym for 'thoughts': they are those of a candle in a mirror, of the moon in the surface of a lake, of the facets of a diamond in the sunshine: they are the true reflections from our joint and several experiences of working with Antonieta Celani in Brazil.
Active Learning in Higher Education is an international, refereed publication for all those who teach and support learning in Higher Education and those who undertake or use research into effective learning, teaching and assessment in universities and colleges. The journal has an objective of improving the status of teaching and learning support as professional activity and embraces academic practice across all curriculum areas in higher education.
The research in this book refl ects a convergence of two long-standing interests of mine: language learning and the organization of social interaction. Classrooms represent a unique opportunity to see the intersection of these two interests. The technological capacities of the corpus of data I’ve had to work with (the Multimedia Adult English Learner Corpus, Reder, 2005) allow for focused investigations of learner–learner interaction in and around language learning tasks. This corpus of classroom video recorded interaction that includes six camera views of each classroom is allow researchers and practitioners new insights into what learning looks like in the classroom.
Two recent movements in applied linguistics/learner-centered language teaching and a renewed interest in the authenticity, interactiveness, and impact of language assessments have come together to bring about a greater concern for and interest in expanding the role of the learner or test-taker in the assessment process. Learner-centered teaching has focused not only on the types of learning activities or tasks with which learners interact in language classes, but also on greater involvement of learners in directing their own learning. Interest in facilitating self-directed learning has led to the development of self-access or independent learning centers, where learners work by themselves, in pairs, and in small groups, interacting in a wide variety of activities involving a vast array of technologies, from tape and video players to live satellite transmissions to the most sophisticated computer-based multimedia learning programs, as well as human tutors and group facilitators. What has often been slighted in both learner-centered classroom activities and self-access centers is the development of appropriate assessment procedures in which learners are not only test-takers but also active participants in the assessment process. The chapters in this volume provide some useful insights into this issue and suggest a number of approaches for greater involvement of learners in the assessment process. Interest among language testers in making language assessments more authentic and interactive, and for facilitating positive impact on test-takers, has led to renewed interest in assessment procedures such as self-assessment and portfolios, and research into the application of research
The way computers have changed our lives is indeed fascinating. Even small kids are getting exposed to them wherever they go. It's not surprising if they start saying "C" for "Computer" instead of "Cat".
