How will you apply what you have discovered about learning theories and online learning to the creation of online resources and activities? Be as specific as you can about why a particular learning theory applies to what you teach and who your students are. Support your reasoning with references.
As a language instructor, my teaching has been informed by language-learning theories and approaches for the most part. I've seen evidence of the influence of both cognitivism and constructivism in these theories / approaches and these two theories seem to be the most applicable to language learners. It has been helpful to review what I know about these theories and learn more about them in a more focused way.
In general, language learning involves learning about the language, a process that is conscious and deliberate, and then working towards 'acquisition' of the language, an unconscious process (Hussain, 2017, pg 3) whereby the language becomes incorporated into learners' mental language system in a way that they no long need to think about it--they are able to use it fluently without having to pay too much attention to which words /language structures to use, no more than they would in their first language at least. Bloom's taxonomy aligns with the language learning process to help student move through the process of 'acquiring' new language.
Students, especially those at the lower level, need to begin by working on remembering and understanding new language structures and vocabulary. Once the language has been introduced, I would incorporate the use of Quizlet or iAnki to review it. I would also use an app like Wordwall to create online activities for them to do in pairs/groups to work on remembering and understanding new vocabulary.
Once a certain level of remembering / understanding has been achieved, students can work towards mastery of new language with the higher level activities, by applying the language, perhaps in understanding and reacting to a text they've read or a video they've watched, initially answering comprehension questions and later doing activities where they need to use the language to write a review online on a website, for example.
In a business English class where they've worked on remembering and understanding language related to entrepreneurship, they could then read about business startups and do comprehension checks to help apply this knowledge. They could then research proposed business startups on a site like kickstarter.com. They would choose one that interests them and share information about it with classmates via zoom, for instance.
They would then work in groups to create their own idea for a startup and pitch this other groups. Recordings could be made of their pitches using Prezi video. The class would view some or all of the pitches, later voting in a poll for their favourite. By the end of this cycle, the students would have analyzed, evaluated and created using new knowledge about the language of business startups. They are likely to have deepened their knowledge of this language (and potentially this area of business) and moved much closer to incorporating this language into their 'active' language.
This process also fits with the constructivist view of the learning process in which learners deepen their knowledge over time. E-portfolios or some sort of journalling could be used as well to help them do this by reflecting on their learning.
Another thing that applies from constructivism is the need to build on what learners already know. I would do activities that activate prior knowledge and see what learners already know. This is especially important in language learning so that students also activate vocabulary that they may already know re: the topic at hand, which will help them deal with the reading, listening, or discussion activity and will help them e.g. read a challenging text more easily. This is also important to help them revise vocabulary they already know so that they can deepen their understanding of it.
For example, if we're doing a unit on the topic of technology, initially, they might do a quiz on technology that contains some of the target vocabulary and that will hopefully get them interested in the topic. It will also work to see what students already know and to activate this prior knowledge. Preferably, this quiz could be done in pairs so that students have a chance to speculate on which answer is correct before making their selections, actively using language for an authentic purpose. This could therefore be done as part of a synchronous class meeting, perhaps using an app like Kahoot. If that's not possible, it could be set up as an asynchronous activity on Flipgrid or another suitable app, with students speculating and providing reasons for their guesses. Answers would not be revealed until afterwards. One caveat is that this wouldn't work for topics that would be easy to google.
References
Ferlazzo, L. & Sypnieski, K. H. (2018, May 3). Activating prior knowledge with English language learners. MyCOTA.ca. https://www.mycota.ca/pro-d-blog/2018/05/03/activating-prior-knowledge-with-english-language-learners/
Schrock, K. (n.d.). Bloomin' Apps. Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. Retrieved December 17, from https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html
Tuncer, C. (2009, January). Learning and teaching languages online: A constructivist approach. Novitas- ROYAL 2009. 3 (1). pp. 67 - 74.
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