Language learning challenge proposal

Improving French vocabulary and grammar through DuoLingo, Quizlet and Facebook using my iPad.

Before I begin with the proposal I will just introduce myself quickly. My name is Mathieu Gabel and I'm in my 4th year at UQ studying a Bachelor of Education (Primary Years) with a minor in French. My love of travelling and experiencing other cultures and languages has motivated me to undertake this minor. Despite being half French and holding passports to both Australia and France, my French skills are not great. I am hoping this challenge will be the start of progressing and developing these skills in my spare time.

My challenge: Although I have studied French for a number of years and visited the country a number of times, I have always struggled with improving my vocabulary and grammar. Consequently I have decided to use DuoLingo and Quizlet to practice and develop these skills while changing my iPad and Facebook from English to French. 
In the past I have been quite lazy with my language learning outside of class and have not addressed my French weaknesses as of yet. My love of technology (especially my iPad!) will help focus on this challenge and will offer motivation to language learning I am yet to experience.

My Learning goal:
By the end of the 5 week period I would like to achieve the following goals:
*Understand and recognise a wider range of French words.
*Understand and comprehend larger and more complex sentences.
*Write and create larger and more complex sentences using more extensive vocabulary.

At the start of the challenge I will write a 200 word short essay on the topic of travel. I will send this to my sister who is a Native Speaker (NS) and receive feedback.

Each week I will complete a different Quizlet ‘study set’ using the cards, learn and match activities. I will aim to complete the match activity in less than 20 seconds and will note my best achievements along the way. By the end of the challenge I will have completed the 5 ‘intermediate French study sets’.

I have already sat the DuoLingo ‘placement test’ and am therefore at an appropriate level in the French course. Each week I will also complete the next level of DuoLingo skills where I will complete the lessons associated and ‘test out’ my skills to pass the level. By the end of the challenge I will be up to the next ‘checkpoint’ in the course.

After changing my iPad and Facebook to French I will look up new vocabulary as I come across it by using my French-English Oxford dictionary. I anticipate there will be many new words at the start of the challenge. However, by week 3 I will be able to understand most of the vocabulary on my iPad and Facebook. By the end of this challenge I will be able to understand all of the vocabulary.

At the end of this challenge I will write another 200 word short essay on the topic of travel and receive feedback on the comparison of the two essays and noteworthy improvements from a NS. 

My learning styles and strategies:
As evidenced through the learning styles quiz (http://tinyurl.com/mhweucd) I am a multimodal learner, meaning I benefit from auditory, visual and kinaesthetic methods of learning. However, I believe the auditory and visual aspects work more in my favour than kinaesthetic in terms of language learning. Language learning styles I believe work best for me, in order from most preferred, include analytical, authority-orientated, communicative and concrete learning styles (Wong & Nunan, 2011).
Throughout this challenge I will incorporate different learning strategies both direct and indirect to suit my strengths as evidenced by the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The direct strategies that I scored highly on SILL and will use with all chosen technologies incorporate aspects of memory, cognitive practice and compensation of limited knowledge (Oxford & Burry-Stock, 1995). Practically, this includes memorising vocabulary and analysing grammar while reasoning and guessing intelligently throughout DuoLingo activities and applying this new vocabulary and grammar into different contexts (Wong & Nunan, 2011). This will principally cater for my analytical and authority-orientated language learning styles (Wong & Nunan, 2011). The indirect strategies that I scored highly on SILL and will use throughout this challenge include metacognitive and social strategies (Oxford & Burry-Stock, 1995). As demonstrated by my SILL results I don’t effectively use affective strategies in my language learning and will not incorporate this into my challenge (Oxford & Burry-Stock, 1995). Practically, my SILL results will shape my strategies by blog writing, evaluating my progress in this challenge and discussing this progress with fellow students (Wong & Nunan, 2011). In doing so, this will cater for my communicative and concrete language learning styles (Wong & Nunan, 2011).

Find out what learning strategies you use most!

The technologies I am going to test:
Throughout this learning challenge I will be testing Quizlet and DuoLingo in addition to changing my iPad and Facebook to French. Quizlet and DuoLingo will act as the formal learning applications in this challenge where direct learning strategies will be used to acquire this new knowledge. Whereas changing the language on my iPad and Facebook will indirectly help to consolidate and test this new knowledge in different contexts. The latter technologies were selected to resolve the constraints of Quizlet and DuoLingo as they don’t always seem to put the learning and lessons into context. Changing the language on my favourite device and most visited website will help put the new knowledge into context and eliminate any potential constraints. In order to describe the affordances these technologies provide, this term must firstly be understood. While ‘affordance’ has changed in definition over time, especially in relation to technology and learning, it has more recently been described as different technologies having particular attributes providing specific opportunities (Day & Lloyd, 2007). These attributes provide specific opportunities to my language learning throughout this challenge to help meet my goals in the following ways. I am only using technologies I am comfortable with and know how to use effectively without wasting time. These technologies all present the learning material more effectively than traditional methods, offering a more engaging and motivating learning experience. Additionally, other affordances of these technologies include the mobility of the learning opportunities and flexibility of learning material to cater for the learner’s needs. All chosen technologies will be used on my iPad and can be accessed anywhere by hot spotting my phone’s internet if needed. DuoLingo and Quizlet can both be adapted easily to cater for different learners by selecting only the activities that improve weaknesses and by creating personalised ‘study sets’ to improve chosen vocabulary. Additionally, each technology has the following affordances and constraints à
iPad
* Ability to change language to immerse learner (however, many apps are still in English or have English components)
* Downloads apps to assist in SLA which can be used online or off. When WiFi isn't available phones can be used to HotSpot
* Ability to support all language modules through multiple apps (through this challenge it will principally supports vocabulary)

Facebook
* Ability to completely change interface to different languages (however, most posts will still be in English as Facebook 'friends' are English speaking)
* Everything is formally translated to chosen language (this can be a negative with learning languages such as French as casual language is used primarily and this style is not offered by Facebook)
* Supports reading, vocabulary and grammar language modules

DuoLingo* Visually appealing interface and very easy to use
* Ability to re-do past levels and 'practice weak skills' to perfect associated skills
* Ability to add friends for some competitive motivation (however, I don't have any friends interested in using the app)
* Sends notifications and emails to remind user to meet daily goals
* Focuses on all language modules and competencies through different types of activities and levels (however, the pronunciation and cultural competencies aren't very strong); challenge will principally focus on grammar and vocabulary modules

Quizlet* Easy to use and navigate in app
* Ability to search 'Study Sets' of multiple proficiency levels to cater the individual user's level
* Ability to create own 'Study Set' with pictures and chosen vocabulary
* Ability to listen to listen to new vocabulary and appropriate pronunciation
* 'Cards' function goes through all phrases/vocabulary in the 'Study Set' saying the words/phrases in English then French
* 'Match' function lists 8 words from the set in English and 8 in French. User must match all in the quickest time possible. This function is a great self-competitive motivator that can be replayed multiple times to include more vocabulary.
* 'Learn' function goes through words 7 at a time in a guided test format (not as useful as other functions)
* Supports all language modules and competencies, except cultural, through the different functions; challenge will principally focus on vocabulary module

How these technologies match my learning style(s)
The pedagogical approaches underpinning these technologies cater for learning styles and preferred strategies. These pedagogies include Second Language Acquisition and Communicative Language Teaching (Lo Bianco & Slaughter, 2009). These pedagogies focus on fluency and accuracy while using errors as learning experiences, much like DuoLingo and Quizlet.
All these technologies cater for my multimodal learning style in different ways. As demonstrated by Sharpling (2010) the visually appealing reading and writing activities to improve vocabulary and grammar offered by all technologies, particularly Quizlet and DuoLingo, cater for my visual learning style. Additionally, the listening, repeating and recording activities offered by these latter technologies cater for my auditory learning style (Sharpling, 2010). Furthermore, changing Facebook and my iPad to French will cater for my kinaesthetic style of learning by offering a non-traditional method of learning in different contexts (Sharpling, 2010). Therefore, by using a range of technologies that are targeted towards different learning styles I will be catering for my multimodal style of learning and will achieve the best results in improving and developing my French language (Sharpling, 2010).
In terms of the language learning strategies demonstrated by Wong and Nunan (2011), each technology I will be testing also relates to a specific style. The vocabulary that will be learned primarily through Quizlet and changing my iPad and Facebook to French will cater for my authority-orientated language learning style (Wong & Nunan, 2011). Additionally, the activities offered by DuoLingo and the sentence structures used by Facebook will cater for my analytical learning style in improving my grammar skills (Wong & Nunan, 2011). Although these two language learning styles will be the focus throughout the challenge, concrete and communicative elements will also be present in the technologies at different points in the challenge (Wong & Nunan, 2011).

My plan:
My plan for this learning challenge may slightly change over the duration if I find DuoLingo or Quizlet to be not what is expected. However, ideally it will be as follows:

Week 1
* Write a 200 word short essay in French on the topic of travel and send to NS for            feedback.
* Change my iPad and Facebook to French and find translations for any new vocabulary as    I come across them with my French-English Oxford dictionary.
* Start DuoLingo from my level after sitting placement test. Meet daily goal of 10 experience   points (xp) every day and progress at least one level per week in order to finish at the next   checkpoint by the end of the challenge.
* Study Quizlet Intermediate French ‘study set’ 1 and complete the match activity in less      than 20 seconds.

Week 2
* Receive and consider how to apply feedback from NS.
* Continue to do translations for any new vocabulary as I come across them on my iPad and  Facebook.
* Meet daily goal of 10xp every day and progress at least one level.
* Study Quizlet Intermediate French ‘study set’ 2 and complete the match activity in less    than 20 seconds.

Week 3
* Continue to do translations for any new vocabulary as I come across them on my iPad and  Facebook. Be able to understand MOST of the vocabulary and sentences.
* Meet daily goal of 10xp every day and progress at least one level.
* Study Quizlet Intermediate French ‘study set’ 3 and complete the match activity in less  than 20 seconds.

Week 4
* Write another 200 word short essay in French on the topic of Travel considering the    previous feedback and applying new vocabulary and grammar. Send to NS for feedback  and comparison of both essays.
* Continue to do translations for any new vocabulary as I come across them on my iPad and Facebook.
* Meet daily goal of 10xp every day and progress at least one level.
* Study Quizlet Intermediate French ‘study set’ 4 and complete the match activity in less  than 20 seconds.

Week 5
* Reflect on feedback from NS and how it may/may not exemplify my learning journey
* Continue to do translations for any new vocabulary as I come across them on my iPad and Facebook. Understand ALL vocabulary and sentences unassisted.
* Meet daily goal of 10xp every day and progress at least one level finishing at the next  checkpoint in the course.
* Study Quizlet Intermediate French ‘study set’ 5 and complete the match activity in less than 20 seconds.

Note – achieving 10xp on DuoLingo may take between 10-30 minutes depending on the activity; Quizlet ‘study sets’ may also take between 10-30 minutes of study per day depending on familiarity of vocabulary.

DuoLingo

Quizlet

My evaluation approach:
While it may already be apparent though this proposal, this challenge will be evaluating my learning through the action learning framework as demonstrated by Bowie (n.d.). This is evident as evaluation is embedded the whole way through the learning process with deliberate intent (Bowie, n.d.). The data collection and sampling procedures have been carefully selected to ensure appropriate feedback and findings to contribute to my successful learning in the future (Bowie, n.d.).
I will use both qualitative and quantitative date to assist in evaluating my language learning challenge. Quantitatively, time on task, progression of levels and xp as well as personal bests using DuoLingo and Quizlet will be noted. Qualitatively, this blog will act as my learning log vital for self-evaluation throughout the challenge; I will also discuss the effectiveness of each technology; finally, I will involve a NS and use their feedback to support my learning and progression.

I will take screenshots at different points in my learning challenge using the different technologies to support my analysis and evaluation.

References
Bowie, C. (n.d.). GIHE good practice guide on designing evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/119006/GPG-dev.pdf

Day, D., & Lloyd, M. (2007). Affordances of online technologies: More than the properties of the technology. Australian Educational Computing, 22(2), 17-21.

Lo Bianco, J., & Slaughter, Y. (2009). Language teaching and learning: choice, pedagogy, rationale and goals. Babel, 44(1), 24-35.

Oxford, R. L., & Burry-Stock, J. A. (1995). Assessing the use of language learning strategies worldwide with the ESL/EFL version of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). System, 23(1), 1-23.

Sharpling, G. (2010). Learning styles: Feedback. Retrieved from http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/learning_english/leap/study_skills/learningstyles/feedback

Wong, L. L. C & Nunan, D. (2011). The learning styles and strategies of effective language learners. System 39, 144-163.