Grant recipients:
Grit Liebscher, Germanic & Slavic Studies
Melanie Misanchuk, Centre for Extended Learning
Ruediger Mueller, School of Language and Literature, University of Guelph
Project team members: Grit Liebscher, Melanie Misanchuk, Ruediger Mueller, Philip Griffiths (University of Mannheim), Stephanie Cooper and Isabelle Eberz (Germanic & Slavic Studies)
(Project timeline: May 2016 - December 2017)
Description
This project, which involves a long-distance collaboration in a third-year online German language course, seeks to provide insights into the ways in which groups consisting of Canadian learners of German in Canada and learners of English in Germany communicate and learn from each other. Qualitative analysis of online communication, students’ language use and their transcultural understanding when engaging in the activities will help us better understand networked language learning and learning a foreign language through online collaboration. The outcomes of this analysis will be triangulated with students' course work and interview analysis to gage the impact on deep learning. The analysis will inform the design of this and future courses using collaborative learning arrangements that will foster deep student learning through the focus on transcultural understanding, i.e. raising awareness of cultural similarities and differences, including cultural manifestations of communicative patterns and knowledge.
Questions investigated
The research project had three central research questions:
- How are identities and positionings with regard to national and ethnic boundaries created and negotiated (e.g. what/who is perceived to be or constructed as Canadian and German)?
- How are differences, similarities, and stereotypes addressed, (re)evaluated, and (re)negotiated?
- Which forms of communication proliferate or impede transcultural learning and how do students make use of their first and the second languages in this tandem arrangement?
Findings/insights
The interviews conducted as part of the LITE project provided important insights into the students’ perceptions of the course and the understandings of relationships between learners. The complexities of identities and differentiation in the backgrounds led to an understanding (by researchers and students alike) that national and ethnic boundaries are much more complex than the borders of a state indicate (for example, there were international students and migrants among both the German and the Canadian cohorts that presented very complex ways of positioning). In addition, the research of the interviews and reflections made clear that the kind of intercultural learning the course fosters meant learning about self (as a person and community) to a larger extend than expected. The language use analysis in the individual interactions is largely still ongoing. As far as language choices (e.g. German vs. English) is concerned, the research showed that it is often negotiated and students seem to adhere to the planned balance of using both second and first language in this tandem set-up (half German-as-Second-Language and half English).
Dissemination and impact
- At the individual level: The research supported by the LITE grant helped refine the design of the course, including assignments and activity tasks (see Impact of the Project below).
- At the Department/School and/or Faculty/Unit levels: In addition to conferences and publications (see below), the research results were communicated informally to colleagues in the department and in other units. For the department, the success of the course (as determined by the research) also paved the way for future offerings of online courses as part of a discussion of currently revising the program. In addition, the results of the research related to this course has been useful in comparing with other current online course offerings in the department, and the conversation with colleagues teaching these online courses has been particularly fruitful. One of the impacts of the LITE grant was that it allowed both undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in the research. Undergraduate students gained insights from participating in the study. Graduate students have been trained in the process of data collection (e.g. interviews), data management and analysis, which contributed to their professional development.
- At the institutional (Waterloo) level: This project was presented at the 2018 Conference on Teaching and Learning at the University of Waterloo. There were no policies effected but the procedures of structuring the course itself (as a potential model for future courses) and the procedures of interaction between colleagues in cross-Atlantic partnerships where positively affected.
- At the national and/or international levels:
- In 2016, Grit Liebscher applied for and successfully attained a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Faculty Research Visit Grant to University of Mannheim, Germany. This grant allowed for doing some of the LITE research on the ground in Mannheim and helped foster relationships with the partner universities for further research and teaching collaboration.
- Together with the instructor of the German course (Philip Griffiths), two of the LITE grants holders (Grit Liebscher and Rüdiger Müller) co-authored a paper presentation based on the LITE grant research that was then also published:
- Griffiths, Philip, Grit Liebscher, and Rüdiger Müller. Exploring Canada/Germany: An interactive experience. Conference Internationalisierung der Curricula. Göttingen, Germany, 2 November 2016. (presented by Phillip Griffiths).
- Liebscher, Grit, Ruediger Mueller, and Philip Griffiths. (2017). Internationalisation through telecollaboration: A German/Canadian experience. In: Hiltraud Casper-Hehne and Tanja Rieffenrath (Eds.) Internationalisierung der Curricula an Hochschulen. Konzepte, Initiativen, Maßnahmen. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann Verlag. 132-144.
- Grit Liebscher presented on aspects of language use and native-speakerness:
- 2017. Liebscher, Grit. Sprachkompetenzen und ihre interaktiven Konsequenzen: Deutsch in Kanada vs. Englisch in Deutschland. DAAD conference Perspektiven deutscher Sprache und Kultur in der Wissenschaft: Kanada, USA, Deutschland. Toronto, Canada, 7 April
- Grit Liebscher was invited to give a lecture on the design and teaching of the course that was based on LITE research: "Transnational telecollaboration online: A practical experience." London, Ontario, 15 November 2017. (co-written with Mueller)
Impact of the project
- Teaching: The tasks and activities were more stream-lined and the instructions were adjusted based on the research (e.g. more specific instructions for reflection-writing). Interviews with students done through the LITE grant have provided insights into the needs of redesigning and restructuring certain tasks (e.g. front-loading an intentional initial stereotype discussion). The interviews have also been insightful in terms of the relationships between different student cohorts, in particular the Canadian and the German students, and the instructors of the two courses worked on more opportunities for students to develop these relationships up-front, before engaging in the tasks (e.g., through an additional video-conference). We have learned some insights into the kinds of media for communication that students prefer, and the ways in which they are using these media. For example, group discussion boards were offered but hardly ever used, in favour of students using face-to-face media of communication such as Face-time or Skype. This has resulted in creating more options for students to use their favourite media.
- Involvement in other activities or projects: Two of the grant holders (Liebscher and Mueller) are strongly involved in scheduling and curriculum planning in their units, and the research of the grant has helped to reflect more deeply on some of the aspects of intercultural/trans-Atlantic partnerships.
- Connections with people from different departments, faculties, and/or disciplines about teaching and learning: The grant has certainly allowed fostering the research aspect of the partnership with the German university (i.e., the instructor of the German course). Informal conversations with colleagues in other language departments have started to communicate some results of the research. The involvement with Melanie Misanchuk in sharing research results beyond the initial design of the course was very useful.
References
Project Reference List (PDF)