OPEN LANGUAGE

LEARNING

OMAIRA CASTAÑO PELÁEZ

 INDEX

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………pag 2
2. Why learning a new language?..............................................................pag 2
3. Why learning English?...........................................................................pag 3
3.1.The four language skills.………………………………………………pag 5
4. Why a language OER?...........................................................................pag 7
5. Development of materials and resources for open language

Learning………………………………………………………………..pag 8

6. Types of open educational resources………………………………....pag 9

7. E-portfolio…………………………………………………………….pag 13
8. Conclusion…………………………………………………………….pag 14

Bibliography

Appendix- my OER

1
 1. Introduction.

The present work is a final task to show my knowledge about Open Educational
Resources after the process of learning in the Open Language Learning subject.

Finally, I decided to create my own Open Educational Resource which is an

infographic in which I have explained the Present Simple Tense with different images
and examples. This is addressed to all students of primary education, mainly to the early
ages, because they are starting in the learning of a new language and they need to
understand grammar in an engaging way.

Piktochart is the tool that I have chosen, which offers a lot of possibilities, both free
and premium to create our own designs with different graphics, pictures, background, and
so on…

So that, I decided an infographic given that I am teacher of primary education and I

think for the first stages this is a very good idea to understand better the grammar of a
foreign language, in this case, English.

2. Why learning a new language?

As we already know, learning a new language is something necessary and an essential

tool in the XXI century, since we are exposed to what society demands, both when
communicating with a person from all over the world, and for practical purposes, for
instance, to get a job.

Therefore, information and communication technologies play an important role, since

they facilitate the learning of a language from a different perspective.

So that, it has been found out, learning a new language is relevant because of the
following reasons:

֍ Job opportunities
֍ Cognitive benefits
֍ Cross-cultural friendships
֍ Get an outsider´s perspective about your own culture.
֍ Become more interesting and meet more interesting people
֍ Become a better learner.
֍ Discover you can do it.

2
 3. Why learning English?

Nowadays, English is known to be an outstanding tool. So that, we find a wide range

of reasons to learn it:

֍ English is the most commonly spoken language in the world.

֍ English is the language of science, aviation, computers and so on.

֍ English is the official language of 53 countries.

֍ Because learning English is fun, you will learn not only a new language, but also
a different country, nationality and culture.

֍ English is spoken as a first language by around 400 million of people around the
world.

֍ English is based on a simple alphabet and it is fairly quick and easy to learn
compared to other languages.

֍ Learning English gives you a whole range of satisfaction due to the fact that
making progress feel great.

Currently, the students of this generation and those to come will begin to need to
communicate in at least two foreign languages in order to reach those challenges and
purposes that they wish, taking into account the globalized world and multicultural in
which we find ourselves.

The aim of education must be to maximize all dimensions of education the person,
developing all their potentialities. It is for this reason, why language learning from early
childhood is so essential, although not only the focus should be on language learning. It
has to be much more what's that? This idea involves learning to relate, to play, to sing, to
discover, to learn, investigate and share using a new language, a language that the students
still do not know but that will open new perspectives and new horizons.

3
 Also, numerous studies corroborate that phonological aspects are they acquire more
easily at very young ages, than it is understood that the sooner you start learning a
language, the greater the guarantee of acquiring an accent close to the native.

Indeed, the early introduction of a foreign language is an educational opportunity,

although it is necessary to know in what way can offer this knowledge to the little ones,
and establish a framework ideal for your learning.

And, for this, the key piece is to offer those who are going to assume that
responsibility tools and supports so that it is an indisputable task of educational potential.

Having said that, the different methodological approaches are described below for the
teaching and learning of foreign languages in the Education Stage Childish:

Theory of Stephen Krashen (1982).

a) Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis:

According to Krashen (1982) the acquisition is a

process that is carried out subconsciously, from the
same way that the child learns to speak in his mother
tongue. Without However, learning itself is a conscious
process, which has as a result the knowledge of the
language.

b) Hypothesis of the Natural Order:

In this sense, the acquisition of the norms of language is done in a predictable way.
Nonetheless, Krashen rejects grammar sequencing if the true objective is the acquisition
of language.

c) Hypothesis of the monitor:

Defends that the acquisition is placed on a paper central when it comes to making
productions and is responsible for fluency, whereas what is learned consciously acts as a
monitor to produce and correct linguistic issues. It postulates that there are three factors
at the time to use the monitor: enough time to reflect, attention to the correction and
knowledge of the grammar rule.

4
 d) Input hypothesis:

In this hypothesis Krashen argues that the process of acquisition is carried out
exposing the student to Input (language) that is find to some extent above the current level
of competition. This Understanding is carried out with the help of the context.

e) Affective Filter Hypothesis:

Krashen talks about the Affective Filter as an acquisition regulator based on levels of
motivation and safety from the student. If the affective filter is very high, the student will
not be able to acquire new skills. However, if the affective filter is low, this will allow to
acquire new language through the exhibition an input understandable.

3.1.The four language skills

According to Mclaren, N. & Madrid, D. (2004) Communication involves

receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills (speaking and writing) in
context. It is recommended to teach our students from receptive to productive skills
and from oral to written skills.

֍ Listening: It is a receptive oral skill. There is a big

difference between hearing and listening: hearing means to
perceive sounds vibrations and listening involves
understanding and giving meaning to what you hear. Undoubtedly, this is one of
the most difficult skills because it involves the development of a wide range of
skills:
1. The listener has to hear a stream of sounds and she/he has to decode this sounds
and silences.
2. The listener has no control over the speed.

5
3. The listener has to interpret the stress, rhythm and intonation in the speech.

֍ Speaking: It is a productive oral skill in which listening

plays an essential role. Children develop these language
skills by listening to their relatives. They start relating
specific sounds with a concrete meaning in a natural way. A good start for the
academic success is a big contact with the language: the more parents speak to
their children the better they get prepared to assimilate knowledge in the school.

֍ Reading: It is a receptive written skill. The development of

reading is the key for a good learning; it’s absolutely
necessary to understand what you read in order to assimilate
the contents. Moreover, it is important for students because we need it in our
everyday life, for instance:
1. To update our knowledge.
2. To consult reference books such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries…
3. To enjoy.
4. To understand letter`s friends or business letters.

֍ Writing: It is the productive written skill. It is the way to

put on a paper the words you say. For a child it’s the longest
process. Besides, we need to develop our writing skills
because it is needed in the real life: to write friends` letters, business reports and
so on…

In the development of the writing skill, we have to mention three important

aspects:

֍ Grammatical competence: the ability to combine words to form texts with

meaning.
֍ Compositional competence: ability to organize words to produce an effect.
Storytelling is a compositional skill.
֍ Discourse competence: the ability to write with coherence and cohesion.

6
 4. Why a language OER?

There are a lot of reasons of introducing and using a language OER in education. First
of all, we could start defining what is an OER.

An OER is any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or
introduced with an open license. The nature of these open materials means that anyone
can legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them.

To begin with, we find a wide range of advantages of carrying out an OER in the
English classroom such as:

- They can be used affordable (mostly free), at home, at work. The use of OERs
instead of traditional textbooks can substantially reduce the cost of course
materials for students.

- Universal access. Students anywhere in the world can access OERs at any time,
and they can access the material repeatedly.

- Interconnected world. Information may be disseminated rapidly (especially

when compared to information published in textbooks or journals, which may take
months or even years to become available). Quick availability of material may
increase the timeliness and/or relevance of the material being presented.

- They could have updated content.

- Flexibility of resources. Unlike textbooks and other static sources of information,

OERs can be improved quickly through direct editing by users or through
solicitation and incorporation of user feedback. Instructors can take an existing
OER, adapt it for a class, and make the modified OER available for others to use.
- Real life learning experiences through OER.

- They promote the learner-centred approach.

- It promotes motivation in students.

7
 5. Development of materials and resources for Open Language Learning.

There are a variety of aspects that we should take into account when designing
materials and resources for Open Language Learning according to Calvi et al. (2013):

- Who am I teaching?

As I am English teacher in primary education, I teach different levels each year, from
7 years old to 12 years old.

- What level am I teaching?

This particular year I am the tutor of the 3rd grade of primary education and I do
English classes as well, so that, this OER is prepared for this group of students between
7-9 years old to understand better the present simple tense.

- What are the official requirements for the course, if any?

Following the Order 17th March 2015, there are no specific requirements for the
course in relation to the grammar explained. However, the Order states that teacher should
explain vocabulary about daily routines, so, we will use this vocabulary to explain both,
present simple tense and daily routines vocabulary because they are closely related.

- What do I want from materials?

Extension: we will use this OER to reinforce my explanations, and also they can use
the OER as many times as they want, for instance to check something during the
lessons that they don`t remember. At the same time, we are developing the learn to
learn competence.

Core materials: they will be used as a complement to the explanations and the
examples we have in the text book.

- What skills will be practiced?

As we are teaching grammar through this Open Educational Resource, we are

developing their grammatical competence. Then, they can create their own Open
Educational Resource, for example just with pictures, and after that, they could tell the
rest of the class what they are doing in their daily life, in this way, we are working,
listening and speaking. So, it can be used in a lot of different ways.
8
 - I am educating, not just teaching.

That means, they are not just learning grammatical aspects. Besides, we will work
different competences, such as learn to learn competence, because they can use this Open
Educational Resource to solve doubts themselves, and also, once they have understood
the grammar and vocabulary, they can create their own OER, and develop this way, the
sense of initiative and entrepreneurship competence, among others.

- How and where am I going to share them?

I will use, as always, my Symbaloo tool, in which I have different materials they can
use in the classroom. Another good idea could be, sharing in the blog of the classroom.

6. Types of Open Educational Resources

So that, it is known that there are a whole range of tools that can be used to create
digital materials and also, bring the real world into the classroom.

 Infographics:

A good infographic can help you summarize

information and some complicated subjects or
transforming a boring task in a motivated activity. They
are designed to reach a wide range of audience by
simplifying complex subjects in an easy format, unlike
other types of visualization. Thanks of all these
characteristics infographics have achieved a lot of
popularity in recent years.

Advantages:

- High quality infographics are 30 times more likely to be read than text articles.
- Diversity of sources and statistics.
- It promotes motivation in students because this visual representation of
information aims to make the information easily understandable.

9
 - Useful tool for displaying data, explaining concepts, simplifying presentations
and so on…
- The don`t need to follow a template, you could change the colours, format and the
style.
- People retain approximately 83% of what they learn visually, which increases the
20% of people that retain information by reading.

Disadvantages:

- Sometimes, you will spend a lot of time preparing them, you have to design them,
select the appropriate layout, colours…
- They could be uncompleted, given that they are summarized all the information,
and that could be both a disadvantage or advantage, depending on the case.

The best idea, to take all the advantages that infographics bring us is using them in an
appropriate context, in spite of the time you have to spend preparing them, infographics
give us great opportunities.

Steps to create an infographic, in piktochart:

It is very easy to create an infographic, in the next paragraphs the new starters can see
how to do it, following a variety of steps, and that was what I did.

1. Login and select a theme

First, begin by logging in to create.piktochart.com. You will first see the Piktochart
dashboard. This is where you can choose from three different visual formats:
infographics, presentations and printables.

Browse for an infographic template layout that stands out to you. You can narrow
down the categories by using the search tool.

Mouse-over the template that you want and select Use Template.

2. Configure your canvas.

10
 First, title your infographic at the top of the editor. You will notice that the canvas is
set up with multiple blocks. You can arrange each block depending on your needs.

- To add a new block, select Add Block ( + ).

- To delete a block, select Delete Block ( x ).
- To duplicate a block, select Clone Block ( = ).
- To change the order of the blocks, click Move Up or Move Down
(arrows) accordingly.
- To set the size of a block, select Settings and change the sizes accordingly.

3. Edit your content.

- Edit the text of your content by double-clicking into a text box.

- To change the font types, size, alignment and colours, use the editing toolbar.
- To add more text boxes, click on Text on the left panel and select the desired type.

4. Add graphics via drap and drop

You can add shapes, lines, icons or photos to your content. Select Graphics on the left
panel.

Then, choose a category and browse for the icon or photo you would like to add.

Or search for icons using the search toolbar.

Once you find an icon, drag and drop it onto the chosen canvas block. Use the tools
on the toolbar to configure your icon size and color.

5. Insert data visualization: charts, maps or videos.

- To insert data visualization tools, select Tools on the left panel.
- To insert a chart:

Select Charts. Then select the chart type on the left panel as indicated below.

- To add data, you can:

Manually input data on the spreadsheet, import data from a locally saved spreadsheet,
or insert dynamic data via a Google Spreadsheet link.

11
 Then, go to the Settings tab to configure the format, legend and colours.

Finally, click Insert Chart to add the chart to your canvas.

- To insert a map:

Select Maps. Then select the type of map — countries, or regions — on the left panel
as indicated below.

Click on Edit Map to start configuring your map.

Add your data to the spreadsheet.

To change the color of the map, select the Map and Border Color buttons.

Finally, click Insert Map to add the map to your canvas.

- To insert a video:

Select Videos. Insert a Youtube or Vimeo URL in the text box. Then, click Insert.

6. Share your work.

- To save your infographic, click Save at the top of the editor.

- To download your infographic onto your local drive as a PDF or image,
click Download.
- To publish your infographic to the Web, click Share.

Once you have published your infographic, you can set it to public, password-
protected, or private.

- To directly share your infographic with friends or on social circles, either copy
the listed URL or click on the social media share icons. You can also share via
direct email, an export to other apps, or embed via HTML.
- You can even present your infographic as slides via Presentation Mode.

12
  Timelines.

A timeline is a presentation of a chronological

sequence of events that helps the learner to understand
temporal relationships.

Normally, timelines use a linear scale, in which a

unit of distance matches with a set amount of time.

Timelines are useful to document any type of development, providing an easy-to-

understand history and helping viewers to understand past. The tools are also useful for
management tasks.

 Video classes.

Video classes are incredible and complete tools which will help you to understand
specific content.

 Interactive images

They are used to provide students with interactive materials and activities;

either as a starter activity, or an extension activity; to produce mini-projects, etc.

 Text-to-speech synthesizers

To use them as dictation activities; to practise pronunciation; to prepare

presentations or projects, etc.

7. E-portfolio

I have decided to choose Edublog as a tool to publish both my OER and

the written document to support the OER that I have chosen given that it is considered
that this element is a very good idea to provide our students with a whole range of tools
in context.

In addition, I used symbaloo to integrate the access to Edublog, because this is the
tool that I have been used last year for everything in relation to my work.

13
 Symbaloo is a free application or platform based on the cloud that allows users to
organize and categorize web links in the form of radio buttons.

It works as a browser and can be configured as a home page, allowing users to create
a virtual desktop accessible from any device with an Internet connection.
Symbaloo users, once registered, have a grid page with different option buttons that link
to a specific page. The application allows users to assign different colours to these buttons
to favour a visual classification of them.

It is a tool that allows you to create different pages or screens with option buttons to
each user in a personalized way. These sections, called web mix, are useful for organizing
themes and links that can be shared with other users, making them public and allowing
them to be sent via email.

8. Conclusions.

Open Educational Resources are a great idea to develop independence in children

because of the development of the learn to learn competence in the English classroom
in primary education. Moreover, they help us, teachers and students to exchange a
variety of materials and resources.

In conclusion, Open Educational Resources, help us to develop not only the

communicative competence, which is the main goal of the foreign language teaching,
but also a variety of values such as cooperation, which is very important in our society.

Once we know the quantity of materials available for teachers and students, we
have an important role to play if we want to put into practice it and develop our
creativity.

14
Bibliography

 Krashen, S.D. (1985). The input hypothesis: issues and implications. Nueva York:
Longman.
 Calvi, A., Motzo, A., & Silipo, S. (2013). Designing OERs to Teach Italian
Pronunciation in an Open Educational Environment: A Case Study. In A. Beaven,
A. Comas-Quinn, & B. Sawhill (Eds), Case Studies of Openness in the Language
Classroom (pp. 70-82).
 Madrid, D. & Mclaren, N. (2004). TEFL in Primary Education. Granada: Editorial
Universidad de Granada.

15
Appendix- My OER

16