Dafne González

Teaching and learning EFL in Second Life: Challlenges for teachers and learners

Abstract:

Teaching second and foreign languages has always been a challenge. The inclusion of technology in language teaching has been a bless for students but another challenge for teachers.  In the last 4 years we have been promoting the use of the Web 2.0 as a way to offer our students the opportunity to interact with real audiences and get varied input through the different applications that are available for free on the Web. Now, the emergence of virtual worlds, namely, Second Life, a 3D environment (Web 3.0),  has raised the bar for teachers and students. It takes us to a higher level of interaction f2f via avatars. Language classes in Second Life offer an immersive setting without leaving home and promote interaction with native and non-native speakers of the target language in real-life contexts. What does it take to teach and learn a language in Second Life? The presenter will address this issue. Images of actual language classes in Second Life will illustrate the talk.

Dafne González has been an EFL/ESP teacher for more than 30 years. She graduated in Language Teaching, has a Masters degree in Applied Linguistcs, and a Ph.D in Education. She has coordinated the Graduate Studies in Education Programs and she has been the Head of the Specialization in Informatics and Education at Universidad Simón Bolívar, in Caracas, Venezuela. Besides teaching technology-related courses at the graduate level, she has also taught English for Architecture and Urban Planning blended and online courses. A webhead since 2002, she was the lead coordinator of the TESOL Electronic Village Online (EVO) from 2006 until 2009, and co-moderator of the EVO Becoming a Webhead (BaW) online Workshop since 2004. She was a member of the TESOL Technology Advisory Committee, and now is a member of the TESOL CALL-IS Steering Committee. She has also been teaching the course "Teaching Vocabulary and Grammar Online" for the TESOL Principles and Practices of Online Teaching Certificate Program since 2004. Currently, she is the head of the Spanish Program for Languagelife (a project of Languagelab.com) in Second Life.