Raising Awareness on Language Development in an English Beginner College Course

Abstract

La investigación sobre el aprendizaje autónomo del idioma ha sido esencial para preparar a los alumnos para que participen activamente en entornos virtuales, un lugar donde se desarrollan las dinámicas de aprendizaje actuales, por lo que el objetivo general de esta investigación es desarrollar la autonomía en los alumnos, comenzando por crear conciencia para permitirles interactuar Críticamente e independientemente en la era digital y asumir la responsabilidad en sus prácticas de aprendizaje. La pregunta que este proyecto de investigación intenta responder es: ¿Cómo puede el uso de WebQuests (WQ) crear conciencia sobre el aprendizaje del idioma inglés en un curso universitario para principiantes? Un interrogatorio que nació en mi práctica como profesor de EFL en una universidad privada, después de que se asignó un trabajo independiente a los estudiantes y no pudieron llevarlo a cabo varias veces, también después de observar que ese enfoque centrado en el maestro fue legitimado por ellos, lo que limita su participación en El proceso educativo. Para confirmar esos supuestos sobre la falta de autonomía, se aplicaron algunas encuestas en las que era posible visualizar varios aspectos que privilegiaban los enfoques de educación tradicional. La investigación sobre la autonomía es un campo que se ha explorado desde la década de 1990, sin embargo, hoy en día ha llamado la atención de los académicos debido al crecimiento continuo de las TIC, donde la acción de los estudiantes independientes es necesaria para el éxito en el aprendizaje, lo que ha llevado al desarrollo de Muchos proyectos sobre este tema. Researching on autonomous language learning has been essential to prepare learners to participate actively in virtual environments, a place where current learning dynamics are taking place, so the general aim of this research is developing autonomy in learners, starting by raising awareness to enable them to interact critically and independently in the digital era and take on responsibility in their learning practices. The question that this investigative project tries to answer is: How can the use of WebQuests (WQ) raise awareness on English language learning in a beginner college course? An interrogation that was born in my practicum as EFL teacher in a private university, after independent work was assigned to students and they failed to carry it out several times, also after observing that teacher-centered approach was legitimated by them, limiting their participation in the educational process. To confirm those assumptions about the lack of autonomy, some surveys were applied in which it was possible to visualize several aspects that privileged traditional education approaches. Research on autonomy is a field that has been explored since 1990s, however, nowadays it has called the attention of academics because of the ongoing growth of ICTs, where independent students’ action is necessary to success in learning, what has led to the development of many projects on this topic. However the relevance of this investigation is that no other has been concerned about how technology, specifically WebQuests, raises language learners’ awareness of autonomy, to help them success in their independent assignments. So far, most of investigations have been focused on how multimedia increases students engagement to learning as it is the case of the proposal headed by Chen (2012) which shows that those who were immersed in virtual environments were able to select what they needed to 8 enhance their learning process and they were engaged to set up their own objectives and implement tasks to achieve them. On the other hand, Zhao (2014) in his research states that autonomous learning must be understood as a strategy, and not as a methodology, that is based on other sub-strategies such as compensation, cognitive, memory, metacognitive, affective and social strategies. Other studies as the ones by Zhang (2014) and Karathas (2015), focused on how effective learning encourages autonomous learning and what the teacher’s role is in the current educational dynamics, show the emphasis that has given on the field of autonomy the last years, however these haven’t intended to explore how to raise autonomy awareness, it means how to become students aware of the difference that their own actions make in learning. The research on WebQuest by Pérez and Dos Santos (2016) makes a compilation of the studies that have been done on this subject, especially those which use this tool to enhance FL and L2 learning. The review shows that they were focused on didactic strategies for reading and vocabulary, others on active pedagogies and motivation towards language learning. Nonetheless, it is evidenced that there are not studies that use this pedagogical tool as a strategy to raise awareness of autonomy on English language learning. Being so, this proposal becomes relevant in the ELT field, because it explores a new didactical approach that fosters EFL learner’s autonomy based on virtual environments. The investigation described along this paper is framed in action research type of study, using a cycling route, by which the pedagogical strategy was devised and evaluated, and It was possible to conclude that the pedagogical intervention, which was the application of the WQ, allowed the pupils to be aware of their existing attitudes towards English language learning, the strategies they use and the necessity of setting up their own learning goals to be engaged to the learning process. Also it allowed to observe that they were highly motivated participating actively in the development of the assignments and tasks.