Date: 20th March 2015

National Seminar Series 2014-15

LC1-016, Languages Building, 2.30pm.

Digital resources to support the development of oral and aural skills
Presenters (please include institutional affiliation)
Dr. Rocío Baños University College London
Dr. Marta Giralt Universitat de Barcelona / University of Limerick

Workshop description:
The paradigm shift for teachers using Web2.0 tools involves rethinking and redesigning the teaching and learning relationship and calls for new teaching-learning practices. Some argue that the success of the introduction of online technologies is in great part due to how well teachers deal with the new ideas and implement them with their learners. If the role of the teacher is paramount to success in students' learning, we, as teachers' trainers, need to facilitate the transition to the digital age for language teachers.

To this end, this event will offer training that will:

• prepare them to make the transition from the traditional classroom tools to these new learning tools
• incorporate these tools into school curricula in a strategic way
• help learners make the transition from the social and recreational use they make of these new technologies to an educational use
• create the most suited blended learning environment in various contexts of the Irish educational system

This seminar will thus provide the basic awareness, knowledge and competence required to use innovative tools promoting the development of oral and aural skills.
It will be delivered by two presenters:

• Dr Marta Giralt, who is a member of the Research Group GREP (Grup de recerca de l´entonació i la parla) at University of Barcelona and who is doing research on how to use digital resources for oral language learning
• Dr Rocio Baños who is Lecturer in Translation at the University College London and whose main research interests lie in the field of Audiovisual Translation. Dr Baños was involved in the EU project ClipFlair, which explores the benefits of Foreign Language Learning through captioning and revoicing.

Part 1, presented by both our speakers Marta Giralt and Rocío Baños, will consist of a general introduction to the integration of digital resources and their use to foster oral and aural competences.

Part 2 will focus on the presentation of three online applications which can promote the development of oral and aural skills amongst learners:

• Glogster is a web-based-software. It has great graphic appeal and vast educational possibilities. It allows the development of interactive posters, offering countless resources and enabling the insertion of images, text and videos.
• MyDocumenta is an application that allows the creation, sharing and publication of multimedia content on the Net. It can be adapted to numerous educational contexts.
• ClipFlair is a web platform for foreign language learning through interactive re-voicing and captioning of clips. The application gallery hosts easily accessible and shareable activities in 15 languages which can be used by teachers in their courses or carried out by learners independently.

For all three applications, case studies will be presented and discussed.

For further queries please email catherine.jeanneau@ul.ie