A critical analysis of the effects of a videoconferencing project on pupils’ learning about culture and language
Hugh Michell
Secondary PGCE (Modern & Foreign Languages) 2010
email: hugh.michell@cantab.net
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of introducing video recording and videoconferencing technology to a year 9 French class in a Suffolk upper school. Pupils participated in audiovisual contact with pupils in the same year in a French school via a live video link, and the effects of this contact on pupils’ perceptions of culture and language learning were analysed following questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations. The results showed a notable increase in pupils’ interest in people from other cultures and pupils demonstrated a sophisticated awareness of their own language learning and of the difficulty of live communication. Although problems were encountered with regards to whole-class involvement, privacy and the quality of the technology available, the project also resulted in an improvement in motivation with many pupils eager to increase the amount of contact they had with French people of their own age.
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The full paper is available for download as a pdf file:051-088michellh.pdf
Citation: Michell, H.(2011) A critical analysis of the effects of a videoconferencing project on pupils' learning about culture and language, Journal of Trainee Teacher Educational Research, Volume 2 , pp.51-88. (Downloaded from http://jotter.educ.cam.ac.uk/, [date of access])