Climbing a mountain : learning Slovak in new language learning environments

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to throw light on the development of teaching and learning Slovak in the new language learning environment. New developments in teaching led to the design of an experimental e-learning course in Slovak based on the philosophy of dynamic learning and using the metaphor of climbing a mountain for learning Slovak. The course was grounded in constructivist views of learning and teaching, which emphasize the importance of learning by doing and the process-like nature of learning. The teaching experiment included reflection-on-action research, with the goal of exploring learners' beliefs about themselves as e-learners before the course, and their perceptions and experiences of learning during and after the course. Thematic analysis was used to analyse students’ beliefs about themselves as e-learners and their perceptions and experiences of learning during and after the course, accessed primarily from learning diaries, pre-course, on-course and post-course questionnaires, course evaluations, interviews and teacher’s observations. The findings show that almost all the learners believed that they learned a lot and perceived themselves as efficient e-learners. The learners’ reflections show that they made clear progress in their receptive skills (reading and listening) but had difficulty in developing their productive skills (speaking and writing). New e- learning skills, for example, in doing research, in creating content and in collaboration, were adopted and further developed. The teacher’s role in the e- learning environment is viewed from both the learners’ and the teacher’s perspective and the functionality, clarity, authenticity and learner-centredness of e-learning environments are evaluated. This study seeks to explore how the affordances currently offered by technology-enhanced learning, mobile learning and combinations of various learning environments (PLE – Personal Learning Environments) can be better used in the teaching and learning of less commonly taught languages. The findings of this study may contribute to the development of network pedagogy for other less commonly taught languages.