Workshop: Let your students do the talking! Authentic conversation to support deep and meaninful language learning
Workshop
Let your Students Do the Talking! Authentic Conversation to Support Deep & Meaningful Language Learning While Building Bridges across Cultures: the Case of Worldchat Live Education
Anne-Marie LAFORTUNE
Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles
Des questions en anglais et en français sont les bienvenues.
Designed by a Canadian ESL college teacher, Worldchat Live Education is a pedagogical tool for second language professors around the world to design authentic speaking activities for their students. We will explore the pedagogical rationale for authentic conversation to increase learner command of their second language as well as the benefits of intercultural matches between students to help build bridges across cultures while supporting learner autonomy and their development of metacognitive skills. Using the example of Worldchat Live Education as a tool for such intercultural exchanges, we will then explore platform features, including how to match students, access their conversation recordings, and connect with fellow teachers across the globe!
About the workshop leader:
Anne-Marie LAFORTUNE is an ESL professor, University lecturer and certified yoga teacher, who has taught in France, South Korea and Australia. She has also done research on the cognitive approach in New York and was invited to Helsinki University to explore their autonomous learning module. Her research interests include distance education and Community of Inquiry model ( 2018 CATE award; 2019 award for excellence in education) and her articles have been published in ProfWeb, Pédagogie Collégiale, as well as the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. She coordinates the green committee and the intercultural center at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, where she also implemented active learning classrooms as well as the Zen space.
