Enhancing Student Engagement through Online Authentic Materials

Abstract

Students exposed to authentic materials in the foreign languageclassroom are better able to process foreign language input in real-lifesituations and have a more positive attitude towards learning theforeign culture. However, exposure to authentic materials can alsoresult in reactions of anxiety and frustration on the part of the foreignlanguage learner. By providing access to authentic content online, thepedagogical benefits of the use of authentic material can be maximized,while some of the drawbacks inherent in such use can be mitigated. Inthis article, we discuss how the use of online technologies offersopportunities to provide access to authentic material that is engaging,appropriate, and affordable. By using the multi-media capabilities of aCourse Management System (CMS) to deliver authentic materialsonline, instructors of French, Italian, and Chinese were able to bothpositively impact student attitudes toward the subject matter and todesign learning and evaluation activities that increased studentengagement. We find that using technology to deliver authentic materials can help alleviate student anxiety associated with being exposed to authentic foreign language. Furthermore, students becomeactive participants in the learning process and are able to employ theirown learning style. We conclude by discussing the limitations andimplications of our findings and making suggestions for futureresearch.

Award-winning faculty online teaching practices: Elements of award-winning courses

“…Award-winning instructors in our study emphasized the importance of using authentic online course materials (e.g., radio show recordings, courtroom videos), which help prepare students for future jobs. Authentic materials can impact student attitudes and alleviate student anxiety (Erbaggio, Gopalakrishnan, Hobbs, & Liu, 2016). Digital resources, such as case studies and videos, help deliver relevant online course material, such as content that demonstrates how to do something, and can increase students' motivation to learn (Herrington & Herrington, 2006).…”

Teaching and language corpora

“…Computer-mediated communication has been recognized as an effective way of connecting with the current population of students, since blogging and social networking are modes of communicating that many language learners use in their daily lives (Alm, 2006;Erbaggio et al, 2010). Therefore, from the outset of the research project, learner motivation was considered to be a key factor in the construction of a corpus based on CMC.…”

Course Design in the Digital Age: Learning through Interaction with News Based Materials

“…The structure of each lesson is represented in the table below and in the example materials in Appendix A. To maximize student interaction in class and facilitate language learning, as well as provide a way of dealing with the difficulties imposed by the use of authentic materials (Erbaggio, Gopalakrishnan, Hobbs, & Liu, 2010), a communicative approach using a task cycle was adopted, based on Marchand's (2011) previous syllabus (see Table 1). While the first stages of the task cycle are carried out in the classroom, it was the aim of the authors to facilitate an environment where students could extend their interaction with the materials and create a context where further learning could take place.…”

“…This was a particularly important consideration, since learners can often experience anxiety or frustration when faced with the difficulties inherent in authentic texts such as news articles (Bacon & Finneman, 1990). However, as Erbaggio et al (2010) argued, by presenting the materials online for self-access, students have more control over the pace of language input by governing when and how they engage with the materials.…”