English 2.0: Learning and Acquisition of English in the Networked Globe with Connectivist Approach

Abstract

English is one of the most spoken languages in the world and widely accepted as a foreign language in many parts of the world. However, though there has been a high demand for English as a foreign language in the 21st century, it has still been taught or learned through traditional methods and conventional pedagogical approaches. In the digital age, learner characteristics, learning environments, and learner needs have significantly changed and new pedagogical approaches or learning systems have emerged as a natural result of the paradigm shift. In this article, these changes were explained and suggestions were made for foreign language learning and acquisition based on the networked learning and the connectivist approach to learning.

Keywords

• English as a foreign language, EFL, Web 2.0, Connectivism, Network based learning, New pedagogy

References

1. Ajjan, H. & Hartshorne, R. (2008). Investigating faculty decisions to adopt Web 2.0 technologies: Theory and empirical tests. The Internet and Higher Education, 11(2), 71- 80.
2. Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Andersen and F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning (pp.3-31). Athabasca, Canada: Athabasca University.
3. Alm, A. (2009). Blogging for self-determination with L2 learner journals. . In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and second language learning (pp.202-222). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
4. Anderson, L. & Krathwohl, D. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.
5. Baumeister, R. F. & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews. Review of General Psychology, 1(3), 311-320.
6. Benito-Ruiz, E. (2009). Infoxication 2.0. . In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and second language learning (pp.60-79). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
7. Bossa, M., Stevens, V., & Tawel, A. (2012). Ayat Al-Tawel and Maria Bossa discuss their students’ collaborations between Egypt and Argentina Learning2gether podcast. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://learning2gether.net/2011/06/12/ayat-al- tawel-and-mariabossa-discuss-their-s/
8. Bozkurt, A. (2013). Açık ve uzaktan ogretim: Web 2.0 ve sosyal aglarin etkileri [Open and distance teaching: Web 2.0 and impact of social networks]. Akademik Bilisim 2013 (ss. 649-654). Antalya: Akdeniz Universitesi. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/ 2536910/Acik_ve_Uzaktan_Ogretim_Web_2.0_ve_Sosyal_Aglarin_Etkileri

9. Brown, J.S. (2000). Growing up digital: How the web changes work, education, and the ways people learn. Change Magazine, March/April, 11-20.
10. Carver, D. (2012). Book review - Learning theory and online technologies. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(4), 324-326.
11. Chen, Y. C., Hwang, R. H., & Wang, C. Y. (2012). Development and evaluation of a Web 2.0 annotation system as a learning tool in an e-learning environment. Computers & Education, 58(4), 1094-1105.
12. Churches, A. (2008). Bloom’s taxonomy Blooms digitally. Educators’ eZine. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8670
13. Cronin, P., Ryan, F., & Coughlan, M. (2008). Undertaking a literature review: A step-by-step approach. British Journal of Nursing, 17(1), 38-43.
14. Davies, N. (2004). Not just how but why: EAL and ICT in the multilingual classroom. NALDIC Quarterly 1/4. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://www.naldic.org.uk/ Resources/NALDIC/docs/resources/documents/Notjusthowbutwhy.pdf
15. de Ramirez, L. L. (2009). Empower English language learners with tools from the Web. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16. Downes, S. (2012). Connectivism and connective knowledge: Essays on meaning and learning networks. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://www.downes.ca/files/books/ Connective_Knowledge-19May2012.pdf
17. Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
18. Gilbert, J. (2013). English for Academic Purposes. In G. Motteram (Ed.), Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching (pp.117-144). London: The British Council.
19. Harasim, L. (2012). Learning theory and online technologies. New York, NY: Routledge.
20. Hardman, J. & Carpenter, D. (2007). Breathing fire into Web 2.0. Learning & Leading with Technology, 34(5), 18-21.
21. Harrison, T. M. & Barthel, B. (2009). Wielding new media in Web 2.0: Exploring the history of engagement with the collaborative construction of media products. New Media & Society, 11(1-2), 155-178.
22. Hauben, M. & Hauben, R. (1997). Netizens: On the history and impact of Usenet and the Internet. Los Alamitos, CA: Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press.
23. Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robinson, A. J., & Weigel, M. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge: MIT Press.
24. Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes: A resource book for students. London: Routledge
25. Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., & Ludgate, H. (2013). NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
26. Kern, N. (2013). Technology-integrated English for Specific Purposes lessons: Real-life language, tasks, and tools for professionals. In G. Motteram (Ed.), Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching (pp.87-116). London: The British Council.
27. Kop, R. (2011). The challenges to connectivist learning on open online networks: Learning experiences during a massive open online course. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(3), 19-38.
28. Laakkonen, I. (2011). Personal learning environments in higher education language courses: an informal and learner-centred approach. In S. Thouësny & L. Bradley (Eds.), Second language teaching and learning with technology: Views of emergent researchers (pp. 9- 28). Dublin: Research-publishing.net.
29. Lu, J. A. (2009). Podcasting as a next generation teaching resource. In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and second language learning (pp.350-365). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
30. McLoughlin, C. & Lee, M. J. (2007). Social software and participatory learning: Pedagogical choices with technology affordances in the Web 2.0 era. ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007 (pp. 664-675).
31. Morgan, L. (2012). Generation Y, learner autonomy and the potential of Web 2.0 tools for language learning and teaching. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 29(3), 166-176.
32. Motteram, G. (2013). Introduction. In G. Motteram (Ed.), Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching (pp.5-13). London: The British Council.
33. Mullen, T., Appel, C., & Shanklin, T. (2009). Skypebased tandem language learning and web 2.0. In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and second language learning (pp. 101-118). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
34. Munzenmaier, C. & Rubin, N. (2013). Bloom’s taxonomy: What’s old is new again. The eLearning Guild. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://publicservicesalliance.org/ wp-content/uploads/2013/04/guildresearch_blooms2013.pdf
35. O’Reilly, T. (2005). What is Web 2.0 – Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://oreilly.com/web2/ archive/what-isweb-20.html
36. O'Reilly, T. & Battelle, J. (2009). Web squared: Web 2.0 five years on. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://assets.en.oreilly.com/1/event/28/web2009_websquared- whitepaper.pdf
37. Pegrum, M. (2009a). From blogs to bombs. Crawley, Western Australia: UWA Publishing.
38. Pegrum, M. (2009b). Communicative networking and linguistic mashups on Web 2.0. In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and second language learning (pp.20- 41). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
39. Pim, C. (2013). Emerging technologies, emerging minds: digital innovations within the primary sector. In G. Motteram (Ed.), Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching (pp.15-42).London: The British Council.
40. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
41. Richardson, A. (2002). An ecology of learning and the role of elearning in the learning environment. Global Summit of Online Knowledge Networks, 47-51.
42. Ryan, Y. (2007). Do you YouTube? Wanna come to MySpace? Musings on narcissism in the 21st century student. In First Year in Higher Education Conference, QUT Brisbane. Retrieved on 19February 2015 from http://www.fyhe.com.au/past_papers/papers07/final_ papers/Do%20you%20YouTube%20_2_.pdf
43. Selwyn, N. (2007, October). Web 2.0 applications as alternative environments for informal learning-a critical review. In Paper for CERI-KERIS International Expert Meeting on ICT and Educational Performance (pp. 16-17). Cheju Island, South Korea.
44. Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
45. Simsek, A. (2000). Egitim iletisimi [Educational communications]. Eskisehir: Anadolu Universitesi Yayinlari (No: 1252/39).
46. Spivack, N. (2006). Web 3.0: The third generation of Web is coming. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://lifeboat.com/ex/web.3.0
47. Stanley, G. (2013). Integrating technology into secondary English language teaching. In G. Motteram (Ed.), Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching (pp.43-66). London: The British Council.
48. Sykes, J. M., Oskoz, A., & Thorne, S. L. (2008). Web 2.0, synthetic immersive environments, and mobile resources for language education. CALICO Journal, 25(3), 528-546.
49. Taranto, G., Dalbon, M., & Gaetano, J. (2011). Academic social networking brings Web 2.0 technologies to the middle grades. Middle School Journal, May 2011, 12-19. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://cmsd.k12.pa.us/cmsd/cm_intsafe/documents/ MiddleSchoolJournalArticleMay2011.pdf
50. Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2009). Handbook of research on Web 2.0 and second language learning. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
51. Uden, L., Wangsa, I. T., & Damiani, E. (2007). The future of E-learning: E-learning ecosystem. In Digital EcoSystems and Technologies Conference, 2007: DEST'07 (pp. 113-117). IEEE.
52. W3Techs, (2013). Usage of content languages for websites. Retrieved on 19 February 2015 from http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language/all
53. Wang, S. & Heffernan, N. (2009). Mobile 2.0 and mobile language learning. In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and second language learning (pp.472-490). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
54. Warschauer, M. & Meskill, C. (2000). Technology and second language teaching. In J. W. Rosenthal (Ed.), Handbook of undergraduate second language education (pp.303-318). London: Routledge.
55. White, C. (2003). Language learning in distance education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
56. Correspondence: Murat Ataizi, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Design and
57. Management, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Anadolu University, Yunus Emre Campus, Eskisehir, Turkey