To ensure smooth communication and collaboration, here are some troubleshooting tips to address common issues:
Check Internet Connection: Verify that you have a stable and reliable internet connection. Use a wired connection when possible, as it tends to be more stable than Wi-Fi. If using Wi-Fi, make sure you have a strong signal.
Update the Browser or App: Ensure that you are using the latest version of the web browser. Developers frequently release updates to address bugs and improve performance.
Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, cached data can cause conflicts or issues. Clear the browser cache and cookies before joining the meeting.
Test Audio and Video: Before the meeting, check your microphone and camera to ensure they are working correctly. If you are a speaker, you can click on "Start Practice Session" button test to ensure audio and video devices are functioning.
Close Other Applications: Running multiple applications in the background can consume system resources and lead to performance issues. Close unnecessary apps to free up resources for the Dryfta meeting platform.
Restart Your Device: If you encounter persistent issues, try restarting your computer or mobile device. This can help resolve various software-related problems.
Use Supported Browsers: Ensure you are using a browser supported by the meeting platform. Recommended browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
Allow Necessary Permissions: Make sure the Dryfta meeting platform has the required permissions to access your microphone, camera, and other necessary features.
Disable VPN or Firewall: Sometimes, VPNs or firewalls can interfere with the connection to the meeting platform. Temporarily disable them and see if the issue persists.
Switch Devices: If possible, try joining the meeting from a different device to see if the problem is specific to one device.
Reduce Bandwidth Usage: In cases of slow or unstable internet connections, ask participants to disable video or share video selectively to reduce bandwidth consumption.
Update Drivers and Software: Ensure your operating system, audio drivers, and video drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause compatibility issues with the Dryfta meeting platform.
Contact Support: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, reach out to the platform's support team. They can provide personalized assistance and troubleshoot specific problems.
By following these troubleshooting tips, you can tackle many common problems encountered on Dryfta meeting platform and have a more productive and seamless meeting experience.
20230719T101520230719T1315Europe/Amsterdam[SYMP04] AILA ReN - Contexts for Inclusive Practitioner Research: aiming for social cohesion in a globalised worldHybrid Session (onsite/online)AILA 2023 - 20th Anniversary Congress Lyon Editioncellule.congres@ens-lyon.fr
Sustainability and Practitioner Research: Fostering Embodied Knowledge and Inclusivity in Language Pedagogy
Oral Presentation[SYMP04] AILA ReN - Contexts for Inclusive Practitioner Research: aiming for social cohesion in a globalised world.10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
Sustainability is a priority among the institutions and countries seeking to implement the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, 2018). At the same time, Higher Education (HE) institutions prioritise annual global performance rankings, performance metrics, and impact assessments, which can include seeking evidence of the contributions that teaching and research make to SDGs. Academics and educators are encouraged to view SDGs and the environment as critical components of the twenty-first-century curriculum. In language syllabi, sustainability issues can be addressed in a number of ways. Environmental issues can be explored through discussions, debates, or the process of building an appropriate lexicon for the subject. However, a challenge remains: How do educators develop materials and lessons to foster appropriate linguistic abilities for the here-and-now while also doing justice to broader educational aims that have "an enduring influence on the future attitudes and personalities of their students" (Maley & Peachey, 2017, p. 7)? It is a challenge that calls for a language pedagogy that puts learners centre stage as meaning-makers and designers of their future (Serafini & Gee, 2017). This paper reports on how I implemented a student-centred, expansive language pedagogy by adopting an enquiry-based approach to materials development. More specifically, I used Exploratory Practice (EP) (Allwright & Hanks, 2009; Slimani-Rolls & Kiely, 2018) to encourage students to build an embodied understanding of environmental issues. First, EP is introduced, particularly its epistemological and ethical framework, which puts sustainability at the core of its practice. Second, the paper illustrates the EP process of classroom materials development, which emerges synergistically through my students and I engaging in cross-puzzling and investigations revolving around the idea of the Anthropocene. The shared understanding developed through EP can draw attention to institutional and personal challenges, such as top-down HE institutional constraints that encourage linear, one-size-fits-all pedagogical materials. I discuss how my own embodied understanding, developed in my participation in an international and cross-disciplinary educational project concerned with the Anthropocene, has meshed with my learners' embodied understanding, arriving at a shared one. Third, and finally, the paper reflects on how an enquiry-based approach to classroom materials development and implementation responds to SDGs and global environmental challenges, and it encourages language teachers to develop sustainability and inclusivity through practitioner-research communities of practice. References Allwright, D., & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner: An introduction to Exploratory Practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Maley, A., & Peachey, N. (Eds.) (2017). Integrating global issues in the creative English language classroom: With reference to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/PUB_29200_Creativity_UN_SDG_v4S_WEB.pdf Serafini, F., & Gee, E. (Eds.). (2017). Remixing multiliteracies: Theory and practice from New London to New Times. Teachers' College Press. Slimani-Rolls, A., & Kiely, R. (2018). Exploratory Practice in language education: How teachers teach and learn. In A. Slimani-Rolls & R. Kiely (Eds.), Exploratory Practice for continuing professional development (pp. 5–27). Palgrave Macmillan. UN. (2018). Do you know all 17 SDGs?THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org).
Explorative Praxis? Challenges and Opportunities in Translating Practitioner Research into Languages Other than English
Oral Presentation[SYMP04] AILA ReN - Contexts for Inclusive Practitioner Research: aiming for social cohesion in a globalised world.10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
By its nature, inclusive practitioner research is committed to classroom inquiry that welcomes and supports all practitioners in reflecting on the learning-teaching process (Allwright & Hanks, 2009). An important, yet often overlooked aspect of inclusivity in practitioner research lies in the very languages teachers and learners use in instruction. While practitioner research has found wide appeal globally, the vast amount of English-language scholarship on the topic can be challenging for teachers of languages other than English who desire to engage in inquiry with their learners and colleagues in the target language (TL).
Within the model of exploratory practice (EP), practitioners from the Rio EP tradition have published ample work in Portuguese to support (primarily) L2 English/L1 Portuguese teachers and learners (see, e.g., Miller, et al., 2008). As Moraes Bezerra & Miller (2015) note, making space for multiple language repertoires in practitioner research not only supports practitioners' individual agency in reflective inquiry, but also contributes to mutual, collective development.
Aligned with this commitment to a plurality of understandings in teacher inquiry, this presentation reports on the experiences of a virtual German-language EP community of practice made up of K-16 German teachers in the US, set to begin in spring 2023. Designed to serve both individual German teachers and the broader L2 German teaching profession, the group supports multiple, interconnected professional learning goals: (1) introducing German teachers to EP, (2) creating community among teachers and learners of German, and (3) offering teachers whose L1 is not German a sustainable source for ongoing professional development and language support.
The presentation highlights participants' experiences developing and investigating puzzles in German and reflecting on their own professional learning as German teachers. Additionally, it focuses on the challenges and opportunities participants experience in 'translating' EP principles and terms into German. Here, issues concerning translatability of cultural concepts (e.g., puzzles) provide moments to consider how different 'languacultures' (Agar, 1994) can frame and position practitioner research in unique ways. To provide a developmental profile of individual and group experiences doing EP in German, the study draws on: (1) participants' written reflections; (2) transcribed Zoom recordings of regular group meetings; and (3) ongoing collaborative development of a German-language handbook for German teachers new to EP. Importantly, the presentation provides teachers of languages other than German (and English) with a model for 'translating' EP into their TLs for professional learning.
References: Agar, M. H. (1994). Language shock: Understanding the culture of conversation. William Morrow & Co. Allwright, D. & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner: An introduction to Exploratory Practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Miller, I. K.; Barreto, B. C.; Moraes Bezerra, I. C. R.; Cunha, M. I. A.; Braga, W. G.; Kuschnir, A. N.; Sette, M. de L. (2008). Prática exploratória: questões e desafios. In: G. Gil, & M. H. Vieira-Abroahão (Eds.). A formação do professor de línguas: Os desafios do formador. Pontes. Moraes Bezerra, I. C. R., & Miller, I. K. (2015). Exploratory Practice and new literacy studies: Building epistemological connections. Pensares em Revista 6, São Gonçalo. 90–128.
Presenters Cori Crane Associate Professor And German Language Program Director, University Of Alabama
Professional learning about teaching pronunciation: Inclusive practitioner research in the context of beginner-level adult English language teaching in Australia
Oral Presentation[SYMP04] AILA ReN - Contexts for Inclusive Practitioner Research: aiming for social cohesion in a globalised world.10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
In Australia, newly arrived adult migrants are eligible to receive around 500 hours of English language tuition to assist with settlement and integration. This program allows students who have not previously studied English as an additional language (EAL) to enrol in beginner-level courses to support their English language development. Teachers of beginner-level adult EAL students work from oral to written language; their students are often from refugee backgrounds with emerging levels of literacy development due to interrupted schooling. Despite the complex nature of teaching this level, limited research and few professional learning resources are available for EAL educators. In the Australian context, teachers also face pressure to focus professional learning time on administrational or assessment compliance training rather than on training that supports their pedagogical needs. Teachers of beginner-level adult EAL students lack a voice in context-specific research that supports them to work together for deeper understandings of classroom practice. One area of research and pedagogy that is of interest to teachers of this level is the development of confident oral communication skills in English and pronunciation is situated within these skills. A complex area of pedagogy, the teaching of EAL pronunciation includes understanding how critical issues of standard models of English, accent and identity have underpinned many of its teaching methodologies in English language teaching (ELT). Research has also predominantly focused on instruction with advanced level students or approaches to understanding and teaching pronunciation that continue to promote a "singular...monolithic approach to the modeling of English (Pickering & Huang, 2022, p. 282). Teachers of beginner-level, preliterate adults are left in a gap between trying to apply teaching methods and materials used in early childhood settings, or ELT coursebook materials and methods lacking relevance to the context in which they teach. There is a need to engage teachers and researchers in critically reflective conversations about the 'what' and 'how' of teaching pronunciation to work towards a deeper understanding of its place within the beginner-level adult EAL classroom (Playsted, 2022). Exploratory Practice (Allwright, 2003; Hanks, 2017) provides a useful methodological framework for practitioner research to support this engagement. In this presentation, I describe how Exploratory Practice principles have informed my PhD research: a small scale study exploring practitioner research as professional learning about teaching pronunciation with teachers of beginner-level adult EAL in Queensland, Australia. I outline the study's background, theoretical underpinnings and discuss preliminary findings from initial analysis of data. I also reflect on the challenges and opportunities that Exploratory Practice offers academic researchers and teachers working together for deeper understandings of EAL teaching practices. References Allwright, D. (2003). Exploratory Practice: Rethinking practitioner research in language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 7(2), 113-141. Hanks, J. (2017). Exploratory practice in language teaching: Puzzling about principles and practices. Palgrave Macmillan. Pickering & Huang, M. (2022). Teaching pronunciation in the context of multiple varieties of English. In J. Levis, T. M. Derwing, & S. Sonsaat-Hegelheimer (Eds.), Second language pronunciation: Bridging the gap between research and teaching (pp. 273-292). Wiley Blackwell. Playsted, S. (2022). Why do we need to talk about teaching pronunciation? Mind Brain Education Think Tanks+, 8(5), 7-12.
Presenters Skye Playsted PhD Candidate, The University Of Queensland
What do we include in the social? Using an actor-network theory lens to examine learning associations in an autonomous English course.
[SYMP04] AILA ReN - Contexts for Inclusive Practitioner Research: aiming for social cohesion in a globalised world.10:15 AM - 01:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/19 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/19 11:15:00 UTC
This presentation explores the social aspects of language learning in an autonomous learning context through the lens of actor-network theory (Latour, 2005). It follows an Exploratory Practice (Allwright & Hanks, 2009) project, which puzzled about why students were required to incorporate a social element in their autonomous English course. The project's result problematised the idea of social learning as distinct from other forms of learning. This result inspires the study at hand, which uses Latour's work to frame students' reflections on their learning. Latour disputes a pre-ordained category of the social, arguing instead that the social is recreated with every new association made. He also includes associations involving non-human actors, such as objects and ideas, as potentially part of a social system.
This project thus brings Latour's theory into conversation with the associations students make in an autonomous English course in higher education, where they are required to plan, carry out and evaluate (Holec, 1981) a programme of work with the help of a language advisor (Mynard & Carson, 2012). The data is collected via the language advisor's reflective journal, a practitioner-research approach which uses reflective practice (Bolton, 2001) and writing as a method of inquiry (Richardson & St. Pierre, 2005) to bring theory into dialogue with practice.
The aims of the study are to gain new insights into the idea of the social in language learning by examining who and what students interact and associate with on their language learning journeys. The study also aims to shed light on the advisor-researcher's conceptions of the social and suggest ideas for future practice.
Allwright, D., & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bolton, G. (2001), Reflective Practice. London: Paul Chapman.
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mynard, J., & Carson, L. (2012). Advising in language learning. Dialogue, tools and context. Harlow, UK: Pearson.
Richardson, L. & Pierre, E. A. S. (2005). 'Writing: a method of inquiry'. In The Sage handbook of qualitative research, pp. 959-78. Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage.
Cori Crane
Skye Playsted
