Combining formal and informal learning: the use of an application to enhance information gathering and sharing competence in a foreign language

Abstract

This study aims to enhance foreign language learners' language competence by integrating formal and informal learning environments and considers how they can improve their grammatical and lexical skills through the gathering (comprehension) and sharing (writing) of information in the foreign language. Experiments with German learners at a Japanese university preparing to study in Germany were conducted. An application to archive newspaper articles was created, indexing current German coverage. A worksheet was provided, where learners were asked to select, read, and summarize articles via the application. Feedback was given to their summary. Participants were divided into two groups, learners that studied only in an informal setting, and those that were also instructed in a formal setting. Interviews were conducted with the participants in order to evaluate how the activities affected their language skills. Results showed that the practice affected their reading methods and heightened their motivation for further language learning in general. Students participating in activities in and outside the classroom showed improvements in their lexical knowledge, and better understanding of subtle nuances in written texts, which positively affected their writing skills and their speaking ability.

Educación, IFE y TIC para el siglo XXI: Inglés Aplicado al Trabajo Social

“…El empleo adecuado de recursos digitales y de internet ha transformado la generación y la evaluación del conocimiento, así como de las habilidades de los estudiantes en educación superior. Varios autores han demostrado que el estudiante universitario se entrena en la creación de conocimiento y en el desarrollo de competencias en el aula y fuera de ella (Lai et al, 2015;Sato et al, 2017;Sockett, 2014;Waragaie et al, 2017). Ello implica combinar aprendizaje formal e informal, aprendizaje individual y colaborativo, aprendizaje en el aula y fuera del aula, y aprendizaje presencial con aprendizaje móvil y ubicuo (Da Silva & Ferreira, 2016;García-Sánchez, 2017;Lai et al, 2015).…”